Legendary rally name reappears on special edition car
The McRae surname is synonymous with rallying, and now Max McRae has his own limited edition Skoda road car.
Rallying has arguably led to as many special-edition road cars as any other form of motorsport, with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition and Toyota Celica GT-Four Carlos Sainz two of the most memorable cars.
Even recently, Toyota has celebrated its WRC champions with the GR Yaris Sébastien Ogier 9x World Champion Edition and the Kalle Rovanperä Edition, while one Skoda dealer is putting its faith in a future star.
Simpsons Skoda in the UK has unveiled the Fabia McRae Edition, limited to 10 units as a celebration of their partnership with Max McRae.
Son of Alister McRae (now based in Perth) and nephew of the late 1995 WRC champion Colin McRae, Max has been competing in the British Rally Championship with the Fabia RS Rally2, this year finishing second in the title race by just 1.2 seconds.
To honour his partnership with the dealership, Simpsons Skoda revealed the Fabia McRae Edition, based on the flagship Fabia 130 but with a handful of tweaks to set it apart from the crowd.
Specific McRae graphics and badging adorn the exterior, as does Skoda’s emerald hero colour on the livery highlights, grille slats and wheels.
Inside each car features a ‘McRae Edition’ numbered plaque, with a silhouette of Max’s Rally2 machine.
There are limited changes under the skin, with the turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine continuing to make 130kW and 250Nm, sending drive to the front wheels through a retuned seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The Fabia McRae Edition is priced from £30,990 (AU$60,190), a steep increase on the Fabia 150’s £24,805 (AU$48,180) starting price at the same dealer.
