New Skoda Fabia McRae Edition is perfect for the ultimate rally fan
The Fabia McRae Edition also gives buyers a chance to brush up on their skills
The McRae name is one of the most famous in the world of rallying, and now it’s the turn of Colin McRae’s nephew Max to have his name adorn a special edition with the new Skoda Fabia McRae Edition.
The car is a dealer special from Simpsons Skoda, which worked in collaboration with Max to create this limited edition of Skoda’s hot hatch. How limited? Well, just 10 units will be available and each will cost £30,990 - £980 more than a standard Fabia 130.
The Fabia McRae Edition receives unique graphics and badging down the side and bootlid, green painted stripes on the grille, a green finish to the 130’s bespoke lower splitter, green wing mirrors, alloy wheels in Emerald green, a signed certificate and personalised handover video from Max, plus a McRae badge at the back. The Fabia 130’s own decals on the front wing and bootlid are removed.
Inside there’s a special numbered plaque with ‘McRae Edition’ and a profile of his Fabia RS Rally2. There’s also a chance to book one-to-one race track tuition with Max – who narrowly missed out on the British Rally Championship this year – at a discounted price of £199.
As standard, the Fabia 130 comes with an uprated version of the VW Group’s widely used 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with power upped from 148bhp to 177bhp. A revised DSG automatic with higher shift points and recalibrated Sport mode helps the Fabia 130 sends its power to the front wheels for a zero to 62mph time of 7.4 seconds, making it the fastest Fabia to date.
There’s also 15mm lower sports suspension, plus reworked steering to go with the bigger wheels.
Rally fans will note this isn’t the first time a rally driver’s name has been used for a special edition. Along with the 1996 ‘Impreza Series McRae’ to celebrate Colin McRae’s World Rally Championship win the year before, there was the Citroen C4 ‘by Loeb’ special edition for Sebastien Loeb, while Kalle Rovenpera and Sebastien Ogier have lent their names to the Toyota GR Yaris.
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