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VW CEO Winterkorn happy with rebounding Seat, Skoda

Martin Winterkorn is a happy man: Volkswagen is putting up big numbers in North America, its latest field of dreams, Audi, is breaking records every month, there are exciting cars in the pipeline - from Bugatti down to the XL1, Porsche's digestion continues, and now Skoda and especially Seat are turning in no-questions performance.
It seems Skoda has been on the ups for years, making the most of keen pricing and modern redesigns of the chassis and tech it gets handed down from big brothers VW and Audi. Winterkorn predicts the Czech brand will just about double its 2010 sales by 2018, going from 762,000 to 1.5 million.
Seat, on the other hand, wasn't just on the hotseat a year-and-a-half ago, phrases like "uncertain future" - code for "possible demise" - were rumbling in the background. A new CEO was brought in, new money and new models were thrown against the wall, and the efforts have stuck. The Spanish brand has hit three strong chords with Winterkorn, with increased sales, strong performance in China and anticipated models due. If this keeps up there won't be much left for him to do but, a la Alexander the Great, break down and cry with no worlds left to conquer.

Seat Toledo leaks out ahead of Paris reveal

A concept version of the Seat Toledo was shown off at the Geneva Motor Show earllier this year, but it was clear that the concept was code for "almost identical to production." Four images of what appears to be the final version of the Toledo have dripped onto the Internet, and sure enough, the only exterior difference we can spot is that the mirrors now have body-colored uppers.
As a reminder, although it looks like a three-box sedan, it is still a five-door hatchback with a 17.6 cubic-foot boot capacity (slightly less than a Ford Mondeo) and slotted between the C- and D-segments in size. Engines are expected to be those also going in the Škoda MissionL concept, which will be the Škoda Rapid in production form and is the Toledo's sister car in the Volkswagen Group herd.
Price will be the Toledo's strong point, with Geneva-era rumors of a base price at €13,000 to €14,000 (around $16,300-$17,600 USD). In keeping with such frugality, engines are predicted to be of small-displacement and lowly horsepower in both petrol and diesel forms. After it debuts at the Paris Motor Show, along with the new Seat Ibiza and the Rapid, the Toledo should be in dealerships shortly thereafter.

Skoda nixes prospect of building a sportscar

We have to admit we were more than a little bit intrigued when Skoda showed up at Wörthersee this year with the Fabia RS 2000 roadster you see here. The concept essentially took the company's S2000 rally machine, gave it a fresh coat of Kermit and chopped off the roof... with four seats and four doors still intact. But could such a vehicle ever be produced?
According to the latest reports from across the pond, the answer, quite simply, is "no". Apparently Skoda is fixated on reaching its sales targets, and while something could certainly be said for a halo vehicle - particularly one based on one of its top-selling volume models - the Czech automaker is not keen on distracting itself from the task at hand. (We'll just have to admire it from the updated high-res image gallery, then.)
That's a bit of a shame, especially since the VW subsidiary's line-up is, well, rather conservative. But don't go thinking that Skoda is about to give up on performance-oriented models altogether, though: the company will continue developing and producing its vRS line of hot hatches and sedans, like the Fabia, Octavia and even the upcoming production version of the MissionL concept debuted in Frankfurt. A Superb vRS performance sedan, however, is reportedly not in the cards, as the executive saloon is just too big to fit the bill.