Monte Carlo – the district of the Principality of Monaco – not only symbolises lifestyle and elegance, but also top-class motorsport at the famous rally of the same name. Since 2011, the MONTE CARLO versions of several compact series have been commemorating ŠKODA’s great successes at the Monte throughout its 120-year motorsport history. These include the ŠKODA POPULAR’s second place 85 years ago and the double victories in their classes of the ŠKODA 130 RS in 1977 and the ŠKODA FABIA R5 in 2017.
In January this year, the current FABIA Rally2 evo continued the brand’s success story at the Monte, securing ŠKODA’s third victory in the WRC2 category in the last five years. With more than 1,250 victories and numerous titles around the globe, the FABIA R5 is currently the world’s most successful rally car.
Black accessories and a sporty interior
Following a special series of 70 ŠKODA POPULAR MONTE CARLO models in 1936 – three of them are now in the ŠKODA Museum collection in Mladá Boleslav – ŠKODA reintroduced the MONTE CARLO designation for the FABIA ten years ago. Since then, the epithet has been associated with the Czech car manufacturer’s compact models as a dynamic equipment variant with lifestyle elements, traditionally characterised by black accessories and a sporty interior.
In 2014, ŠKODA presented the MONTE CARLO versions for the third-generation FABIA and extended the equipment line to other series. The ŠKODA CITIGO MONTE CARLO and the ŠKODA YETI MONTE CARLO appeared first, followed shortly after by the ŠKODA RAPID SPACEBACK MONTE CARLO. The sporty YETI remained in the range until 2017; the RAPID SPACEBACK was available until 2018 and the CITIGO was part of the portfolio until 2019. These three models were succeeded by the ŠKODA SCALA MONTE CARLO and the ŠKODA KAMIQ MONTE CARLO at the end of 2019. Later this year, the upcoming fourth-generation ŠKODA FABIA will also be available as a MONTE CARLO variant, continuing the tradition.
