What's this then?
Beneath that jumble of black-and-white zigzags (clearly, all those pensioned-off military camouflage experts have gone to work for the car marques' prototype departments) lies the all-new Skoda Superb. It's a car we're rather keen to see in the flesh, something we won't get to do (properly at any rate) until it's revealed at a special event in Prague in mid-February before going on to a full public debut at the Geneva Motor Show in early March.
Calling all minicabs, calling all minicabs...
Don't be so unfair. Frankly, the current Superb really does live up to its lofty name and even gives cars like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class a run for their money. That's the thinking behind the new car, for definite. Although it's based on the same MQB oily bits you'll find under the Golf, Octavia et al, Skoda has some rather aspirational plans for the Superb.
"The new Skoda Superb is the best Skoda ever. This latest generation of our flagship will appeal to new groups of customers in the business and private sector. The qualities of the Superb emphasise the brand's values and point to the future of Skoda," said Skoda CEO Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland.
What Dr. Vahland isn't saying is what a Skoda insider told us last year - the new Superb is being aimed right down the throat of the BMW 5 Series and the E-Class, at least in terms of interior space, comfort and appointments.
A 5 Series chaser from Skoda, seriously?
Yup. Well, unofficially. Officially, Skoda wants the Superb to be the best-in-class when compared with the Mondeo, Insignia and Avensis (leaving the ritzier Volkswagen Passat to take on the BMW 3 Series and Merc C-Class incidentally), but off the record, the game plan for this car is much more luxurious. According to our spies, the styling is very much like that of the current Octavia, with bits of the Vision-C concept thrown in and some very fine, high-quality detailing. Auto-dimming headlights with LED daytime running lights are on the menu, as is Apple CarPlay and an eight-inch touchscreen. Engines will range from a basic 1.4-litre turbo petrol with cylinder shutdown to a range-topping 276hp 2.0-litre turbo. There will be three diesels, including a new 120hp 1.6 TDI and a 190hp 2.0 TDI with optional four-wheel drive.
Anything else?
This is a critical car for Skoda. Over 700,000 Superbs have been sold across its two generations thus far, but Skoda wants to sell at least that many of just this new model - a key part of its plan to expand sales to more than 1.5 million cars. It's doing well on that score: this year saw Skoda pass the one million sales mark in one year for the first time ever.
Neil Briscoe - 14 Dec 2014