Bonkers 477PS Škoda Superb Sleeper Edition sends third gen out with a bang
The Škoda Superb has been the Czech company's flagship model for more than 20 years, and the go-to choice for any motoring journalist when asked the question: "What's the best family car on sale?"
We loved it even more when Škoda revealed the 280PS (206kW) version, essentially a rebadged Golf R with way more space, comically cushy suspension and (almost) the same explosive cross-country performance.
It is hardly surprising that Škoda sold 860,000 units of the outgoing third-generation car, a success worth celebrating. And what better way to do that than to bolt a huge turbo to a family-friendly wagon to give us this, the Škoda Superb Sleeper Edition?
Built in the UK by RE Performance, the team behind the Land Speed Record-breaking Octavia that hit 227.080mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2011, the Sleeper Edition is based on a 2.0-litre TSI 280PS (206kW) 4x4 estate but pumps out 477PS (351kW) and 661Nm (488lb ft) of torque. Škoda doesn’t quote performance, but 0-62mph in less than four seconds should be possible with a top speed far in excess of the car’s 155mph limiter.
The huge performance leap comes about thanks to an upgraded turbo, revised fuel system, new intake and an upgraded intercooler. RE Performance has also gone to work on the handling, dropping the car by 50mm, adding coilover suspension and uprating the brakes with larger grooved discs and bigger callipers.
While a lot is going on under the skin, as its name suggests, the Sleeper Edition looks almost identical to a normal Superb up top. It's finished in Royal Green – which marked the coronation of King Charles III in 2023 – with a Cognac Tan leather interior.
With the Gen 4 Superb already wafting into showrooms, sadly, the Sleeper Edition will never be sold, but it will join Škoda’s press fleet, so expect a review here soon. Could it signal Škoda’s intent to build a hot version of the new car? We have our fingers and toes crossed that it does.
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