The 470bhp Skoda Superb Sleeper Edition Is Here But You Can’t Have One

This is the Skoda Superb Sleeper Edition, and no, it’s not a Superb designed for sleeping in – although fold the back seats down and chuck a blow-up mattress back there and you’d probably be pretty cosy. No, it’s a sleeper as in a very pedestrian-looking car that packs in a huge amount of performance. You know the sort of thing – the E39 BMW M5, the C6 Audi RS6, et cetera.

Don’t get too excited about Skoda joining these ranks – this is just a one-off. There’s a clue to that in that it’s based on the old Superb Estate, which was replaced this year. As its base, it uses the Superb 280 4x4 – already something of a sleeper, with a 2.0-litre turbo four producing 276bhp and 258lb ft of torque.

British firm RE Performance – the same team that built the Octavia that hit 227mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats back in 2011 – has fitted a beefed-up turbo and a new fuel system, as well as an uprated intercooler and air intake. The exhaust system has a new custom-made downpipe and centre section. Despite seemingly very few mods, it’s now churning out 470bhp and 487lb ft. That’s more power than a current Audi S6, and more torque than a Ferrari Enzo managed.

To help keep all this in check, RE has dropped the Superb by 50mm on a set of coilovers, and fitted it with uprated AP Racing brakes. Its four-wheel drive system and seven-speed DSG auto ’box are unchanged, though.

There’s no word on the effect all this has on performance, but we can imagine it’ll significantly improve on the already swift 0-62mph time of 5.8 seconds the standard car manages.

Perhaps best of all, it’s based not on the jazzed-up SportLine trim that hints at some of the 280’s performance potential, but on the luxe-oriented Laurin & Klement version of the Superb. That means it sits on some very non-sporty 19-inch rims, and wears the subtly classy combo of Royal Green over Cognac leather.

Skoda’s apparently had this built to highlight the Superb’s all-round breadth of ability. We’re just sad it’s only a one-off, but if you have an old Superb 280 lying around, we suspect it’s nothing a remap and a few aftermarket bits couldn’t do a decent approximation of…