On Friday 19 August at 07:45am, a ŠKODA Octavia vRS officially became the world's fastest 2.0-litre supercharged production car when the 600 bhp ‘salt spec’ racer – built to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iconic vRS performance flagship badge – registered a Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) sanctioned speed of 227.070 mph on Utah’s legendary Bonneville Salt Flat.

The modified production Octavia vRS hatch, prepared by ŠKODA UK, smashed the previous record for a 2.0-litre forced induction production car at this year's Bonneville Speed Week (13th -19th August), registering an impressive official record speed of 227.080 mph. The previous record for what is known as the G/PS category was 216 mph, which was set in August 1998.

Driven by journalist Richard Meaden (pictured above), the Octavia had set impressive speeds throughout the week breaking the 200 mph barrier on six previous runs.

The Octavia’s record breaking runs consisted of two official runs of Bonneville's famous five-mile course. On Thursday 18th August the Octavia reached a speed of 225.513 mph and then on Friday 19th August recorded an even quicker speed of 228.647 mph.

Robert Hazelwood, Director for ŠKODA UK, said: “This is a truly stunning achievement. Our goal was to break 200 mph as a celebration of 10 years of vRS, and we have achieved that, and significantly more. The success is a tribute to everyone who has worked so tirelessly and with such passion to make ŠKODA a world beater."

The Milton Keynes based ŠKODA UK team behind the racer had spent the week leading up to Speed Week putting the car through a rigorous dyno programme with the assistance of performance software and tuning outfit specialist REVO Technik.

Since its launch in 2001, vRS has captured the hearts of UK motorists who enjoy the thrill of sports car driving. Since then, the UK has become ŠKODA’s largest market for the Octavia vRS and the Fabia vRS with more than 12,000 cars sold since launch.

Watch the Final Moment

Watch the moment ŠKODA’s Octavia vRS drove into the history books, officially becoming the world’s fastest 2.0 litre supercharged production car. This video puts you in the passenger seat next to Richard Meaden as he reaches the record speed on Utah’s legendary Bonneville Salt Flat.

The Octavia vRS Bonneville Special

The car is a factory-fresh production Octavia vRS, with some changes made to improve aerodynamics and performance. That includes lowering the ride height to run almost 80mm closer to the ground and a new sub-frame which houses a race prepared intercooler.

It retains its production-standard 2.0-litre four-cylinder TSI petrol engine, with the standard turbo replaced with a large unit from respected component firm Garrett.  Generating over 500 BHP, and producing 30+ PSI of boost pressure, the Bonneville Octavia vRS drinks high-octane race fuel (with water methanol mix) rather than unleaded petrol.

The unique racer has been built to stringent Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) safety regulations, which means a reinforced roll cage, parachute, fire extinguishers and window cage.

To find out more about the ŠKODA Octavia vRS model, please click here.