Skoda trotted out a very thinly disguised prototype of its new generation Fabia supermini wearing only some bits and pieces of black tape together with fake decals for the tail lamps, offering us our best look yet at the five-door hatchback.

Believed to make its world premiere at the Paris motor show in early October, the new Fabia was developed alongside the Rapid and Octavia, adopting a similar styling with more angular details than the current model. It still keeps some of the Fabia’s trademark design cues like the thick C-pillar, but revamped to give it a more youthful appearance.

From the photos, the new model seems to be a little bit wider and lower with a slightly longer wheelbase over the outgoing Fabia to help with interior space.

While it was initially thought that the new Fabia would employ the VW Group’s lighter MQB modular platform, we now hear that Skoda opted to build the sub-compact model on a revised version of the current car’s architecture to reduce costs and for scales of economy as it’s shared with the new Rapid.

At launch, the Czech hatch will likely come with the VW Group’s familiar 1.2-liter and 1.4-liter TSI turbo petrol units, the 1.6-liter diesel and possibly even a 1.0-liter 3-cylinder engine.

By John Halas

Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS

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