20 August 2021
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ŠKODA UK is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of setting a new land speed record at the famous Bonneville salt flats in Utah, USA. At 07:45am local time on Friday 19 August 2011, a specially prepared ŠKODA Octavia vRS driven by journalist Richard Meaden, officially became the fastest 2.0-litre forced induction production car, registering a Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) sanctioned speed of 227.080mph. To mark the occasion, ŠKODA UK has completed a restoration of the 2011 Octavia vRS, returning it to the same specification that completed the final run along the world-famous salt flats. The freshly restored racer was put through its paces at Millbrook Proving Ground’s high-speed bowl by members of the motoring press, alongside a selection of some of ŠKODA’s greatest performance models past and present marking the 20th anniversary of vRS in the UK. Recalling ŠKODA’s record-breaking visit to Bonneville, Meaden said: “Driving the salt flats was a dream come true. It always felt like a privilege to be allowed to charge flat-out down the salt. Knowing how much passion and hard work went into getting the Octavia to Speed Week made that privilege all the greater. I’m incredibly proud of what we all achieved and will never forget how it felt to break a record or to be part of such an exceptional group of people.” Although the 2011 ‘Salt spec’ Octavia became the first ŠKODA to hold an official Land Speed Record – beating the previous benchmark by more than 11 seconds – the original target for the ŠKODA UK team was to break the 200mph barrier. Indeed, it was only after the car eased past the famous ‘double century’ in early runs that the team realised that the existing record might be beatable. The Octavia vRS’ record-breaking run consisted of two official sprints of Bonneville's famous five-mile course: the first at 225.513mph on Thursday 18 August, with the return at 228.647mph on Friday 19 August.
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