130 years, 130 kilowatts, one very quick little hatchback. Škoda is marking its anniversary the right way – with the fastest series-production Fabia ever. The Fabia 130 doesn’t wear an RS badge, but its numbers and rally-inspired details suggest Mladá Boleslav hasn’t felt this playful in a while.

Design: a nod to the Fabia RS Rally2

There’s no mistaking what the Fabia 130 is. The roof, pillars and mirrors are always gloss black, whether the body is white, red, blue or black. Up front there’s a black spoiler, at the back a rear wing and diffuser, and a black horizontal stripe runs between the tail-lights as a tribute to the Fabia RS Rally2. The Bi-LED headlights get smoked housings, ‘130’ badges sit on the front wings and boot lid, and 18-inch Libra alloys and twin exhaust tips complete the look.

Inside there are sports seats with firm side bolsters, a three-spoke steering wheel with gearshift paddles, grey and black aluminium-look trim and bespoke door sills. The driver faces the 10-inch Virtual Cockpit.

Škoda Fabia 130 side view — Photo: Škoda (Škoda Storyboard)

Engine and chassis: more than a remap

Power comes from the 1.5 TSI evo2, which makes 110 kW in the regular Fabia. Here it is boosted to 130 kW (177 PS), with 250 Nm available from 1,500 to 4,000 rpm. Drive goes through a seven-speed DSG with reprogrammed shift points and double-clutch downshifts in Sport mode. The result: 0-100 km/h in 7.4 seconds and a 228 km/h top speed – a record for a series-production Fabia.

The chassis has been reworked too. The sports suspension sits 15 mm lower, the steering is recalibrated for sharper feedback, and traction control gains a two-stage mode that allows a degree of controlled slip. On paper, these are the changes that make a car more engaging, not just faster in a straight line.

Price and who it’s for

In Germany the Fabia 130 is priced from €35,530; in the UK it costs from £30,010 OTR. It is built in limited numbers, with European sales starting at the end of 2025. The small hot-hatch class has thinned out, leaving the VW Polo GTI and Toyota GR Yaris as the main reference points. The Fabia 130 has no manual gearbox and isn’t a full RS, but it offers something increasingly rare: a small, light petrol car with character and everyday Fabia practicality. For the enthusiast not ready to wait for the electric future, it’s a collector’s moment.