Here are nine of Skoda's greatest hits

From behind the Iron Curtain in the Seventies, Skoda developed this glorious rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive coupe that would go on to spawn a number of rally and race car derivatives. Style and substance.

Loosely based on the first ever Octavia vRS and debuted at the 1999 Monte Carlo Rally, the Octavia WRC was far from Skoda’s most successful rally car. But just look at it. It’s an infinitely cool thing.

The MkI Fabia vRS was the world’s first diesel-only hot hatch, equipped with a 1.9-litre turbodiesel that made 128bhp. That may not sound like much, but you also got 229lb ft of torque from 1,900rpm. Proper grunt.

Isn’t that just one of the prettiest two-seater sports cars you’ve ever laid eyes upon? If we didn’t tell you that the 1957 1100 OHC was a Skoda, you could almost mistake it for something from Maranello.

As a general rule, we’re not that keen on crossovers here at TG. The Yeti – our 2009 Family Car of the Year – was different. Boxy, practical and no-nonsense, it was everything a proper Skoda should be.

Based on the road-going 110 R, the 130 RS was dubbed ‘the Porsche of the East’ thanks to its rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and its success in both rallying and touring cars in the late Seventies and early Eighties.

Bit of a niche one this, but when Skoda decided to give the second-gen Superb the legendary 3.6-litre VR6 engine and four-wheel drive, it inadvertently created perhaps the ultimate sleeper estate. We’ll take ours in brown.

The Czech take on the ID.4 (and Skoda’s first ever purpose-built EV) is not just better than the Volkswagen it’s based on, it beats the £8,000 more expensive Audi Q4 e-tron too. 

A practical EV that’ll do 300 miles on a charge. Lovely.

Skoda has sold over 400 examples of its Rally2-spec R5 since it went on sale back in 2015. No car has been more successful in its class since then either, with the Fabia amassing almost 1,400 victories across the globe.