Skoda has released two official sketches of the upcoming Rapid, which is subcompact model that will be sold in Russia, and should make its way to India and China as a budget-friendly family car later on. As such, as the Rapid will continue to live alongside the Scala, the latter being a more upmarket offering that rivals the Volkswagen Golf.
While sketches do tend to exaggerate the styling of the final product, it’s clear that some of the styling cues are derived from the Scala as well as the newer (and larger) Octavia. These include the company’s signature front grille that is flanked by arrow-shaped headlamps, joined by a wide-width lower intake.
Skoda says the Rapid will adopt a five-door liftback body style, and we also see a similar L-shaped taillight design as those found on the aforementioned models. Don’t mind the unusually large wheels and missing door handles, as they are typical of design sketches. There’s also no indicator of life inside the cabin, but expect a straightforward approach that dials down on the bells and whistles given the target market.
It’s not known whether the new Rapid will be based on the MQB platform like the Virtus, or if it will soldier on with the aging PQ25 architecture, albeit with a new body on top. Reports indicate a debut will take place before the end of 2019, so stay tuned.
