On 19 August, a 600bhp Skoda Octavia vRS officially became the world's fastest 2.0-litre supercharged production car in the world, registering a speed of 227.080mph on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flat.

The modified production Octavia vRS hatch, prepared by Skoda UK, smashed the previous record for a 2.0-litre forced induction production car at this year's Bonneville Speed Week. The previous record for what is known as the G/PS category was 216mph, set in August 1998.

The record was attempted as part of the 10th birthday celebrations of the brand's vRS performance badge but also coincided with the sale of the 10,000 model to fleet customers.

Martin Burke, head of fleet sales at Skoda UK, said: 'This is a truly stunning achievement. Our goal was to break 200 mph as a celebration of 10 years of vRS, and we have achieved that, and significantly more. To come at the same time as we celebrate reaching the 10,000 mark on our vRS fleet sales is certainly something to be proud of.

'The success is a tribute to everyone who has worked so tirelessly and with such passion to make Skoda a record-breaking, world beater.'

The UK is now Skoda's largest market for the Octavia and Fabia vRS.