Skoda’s really teasing its Kodiaq vRS

There were 'spy' shots. There were extremely dark pictures. And now we have some drawings and severely cropped-in photos. Skoda’s dragging out the reveal of the Kodiaq vRS as if it’s the new Toyota Supra or something. Surely we’ll see the real car soon?

It’s not like we can’t guess what it’s going to look like. We know the Kodiaq well (it’s won two Top Gear SUV of the Year awards in row) and we know the Octavia vRS well (it’s a wonderfully competent thing that’s been around for years), so it takes only a small amount of brain power to amalgamate the two in our minds. We can’t help but think the full unveiling at the Paris Motor Show will be a colossal anti-climax.

If you need a recap, the Kodiaq vRS will be the first seven-seater vRS, a point rammed home by Skoda claiming the seven-seater lap record of the Nürburgring during the car’s development. Proving just how irrelevant that really is, it’s nearly three minutes behind the quickest production car around the ‘Ring.

It’s diesel-only for now, with a 237bhp 2-litre turbo four familiar from other VW Group SUVs driving all four wheels through an automatic gearbox. These latest pics confirm some of the aesthetic stuff, with 20in alloy wheels fitted as standard (there goes the comfy ride), necessary to house the 17in brake discs. Yep, it’ll take some stopping when you steam into turn one on your local trackday.

The brake calipers are red, matching the new-age vRS logo in the grille, while there are full LED headlights and racy blue paint that’s previously not been an option on the family-friendly Kodiaq.

As a one-car-to-do-the-lot proposition, it has the potential to be extremely good. Which is why we’d rather they got the boring teasers out the way and just showed us the thing…