Skoda has announced a very special edition of its Superb Estate. This unique version gets the VW Group’s 2.0-litre diesel engine with 187bhp, and comes with Skoda’s standard three-year warranty. It is being offered for the sum of £118,688 (RM628,000).
This, admittedly, is a whisker over a regular 187bhp Superb Estate’s average starting price of £32k, but then this is no average Superb Estate.
Because it’s bullet-proof and bomb-proof. Skoda tells us that this special project is the result of a three-year partnership with an unnamed UK-based converter, who has retained the car’s vitals – generous interior human accommodation, more-than-generous non-human rear accommodation (ie, the boot) – while making it virtually indestructible.
It gets a specially reinforced passenger cell and bullet-resistant glass alongside high-strength steel and composite materials in its construction. Skoda won’t specify the exact minutiae of the indestructibility, but suffice to say, it’ll meet PAS 300 requirements for ballistic and blast protection. Skoda knows this because it fired many different types of ammunition at the Superb, and exposed it to “blast and fragmentation threats”. Supermarket car parks, after all, are a dangerous place.
Naturally, this additional protection means the whole car runs a tad heavier than standard. We’re not told exactly how much, but both the suspension and brakes were upgraded to counter the extra mass. The wheels have been specially designed so that in the event of a blowout or tyre failure, the car can continue to drive.
There’s other neat touches like emergency lighting and sirens (try and resist pushing them all of the time), along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capabilities. Plus, an 8in touchscreen. It’s basically your perfect family car.
