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First Spy Photos of All-New 2016 Skoda Superb

Fresh news from Czech carmaker Skoda, which has just started road testing of the all-new Superb sedan. The first prototype wearing heavy camouflage was scooped in three photos that show a very large sedan taking design inspiration from the Vision C concept they showed in March.
 All-New 2016 Skoda Superb 15 photos
Photo: CarPix
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The all-new Superb sedan is entering its third generation now and will gain access to all the latest technologies developed by Volkswagen Group for the Passat. That's right, this is going to be an MQB car as well, lighter, more efficient and powerful than its predecessors.

This will be one of the largest cars made on the MQB, with a wheelbase of 2,836mm, 75mm more than the current generation. Headroom will be increased without raising the roof by placing the seats lower to the floor, which also helps handling.

New TSI and TDI engines

The MQB platform gives the Superb sedan access to all ten of the powertrains used by the Golf and Passat, all turbocharged and using the latest fuel-sipping tech. They will range in output from 120 to 280 horsepower, while displacement should vary between 1.4 and 2 liters.

Word is that the current 3.6-liter V6 engine powering the most expensive version of the Superb will be replaced by a new 2-liter turbo, like the one offered on the SEAT Leon Cupra. This will send power to all four wheels via a 7-speed DSG gearbox and Haldex-based AWD system.

There should be at least two versions of the 2.0 TDI engine and eventually one 1.6-liter TDI for base models.

The first Skoda plug-in hybrid

Earlier reports have confirmed that the Superb sedan will be the first Skoda production model capable of running on electricity. The powertrain will be borrowed from the Passat GTE and will combine a 1.4-liter TSI turbo and an electric motor to offer a combined 218 PS of output for the front wheels to use.

Skoda has played with the idea of an electric car for a long time and is likely to use the Green E badge for their Superb PHEV. Expect an all-electric range of up to 50 kilometers or 31 miles on a full charge of the battery and a price in the region of €40,000, if not a little more.

Full-LED headlights? Only as an option…

The new Superb should also feature the most advanced active safety technology and the first application of adaptive all-LED headlights. Probably the biggest surprise we have while examining the spy photos is that the LEDs have not been installed. It's probably because cheaper models will offer a simple and less expensive xenon system.

However, we consider this to be a bad move on Skoda's part, since the Passat offers LEDs as standard on mid-grade models and even cheaper French cars like the Peugeot 308 have it.

Expect the all-new Skoda Superb to debut in 2015, either in Geneva or, more likely, at the IAA in Frankfurt.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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