And this one is a real record holder on the North Loop of the Nürburgring! The circuit is considered a definitive touchstone for sporty vehicles. If a car impresses here, it will impress on any road. Racing driver and ring-expert Sabine Schmitz defeated the Green Hell in 9:29.84 minutes in the Kodiaq RS – powered by a four-cylinder diesel engine with twin turbochargers, 240 hp (176 kW) and a maximum torque of 500 Nm. The absolute best time for a seven-seater SUV! The engineers at ABT Sportsline now offer a performance upgrade for the fast Skoda, boosting the drive to a hefty 270 hp (199 kW) with a maximum torque of 540 Nm.
“The record shows what great potential the Kodiaq RS already has – we now build on this excellent foundation and increase the power even more”, says Managing Director Hans-Jürgen Abt. In figures, this means a 30-hp increase in the engine and a 40-Nm increase in torque. This is made possible by the performance upgrade ABT Power with the high-tech control unit ABT Engine Control (AEC). After the performance optimisation by ABT Sportsline, the exclusively automatic Kodiaq RS (7-speed DSG) now accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in 6.8 instead of 7.0 seconds.
The 4-wheel drive has already proven its agility in its record-breaking run at the Nürburgring, but the Kempten-based tuner also has improvements at the ready: ABT suspension springs lower the SUV, which improves the handling in corners and also provides a more coherent aesthetic. An example of this is the pictured vehicle, whose flawless appearance is beautifully complemented by the addition of 20-inch ABT GR rims in matt black. In any case, the ABTSkoda Kodiaq RS would be ready to be crowned king of the seven-seater SUVs on the Nordschleife.