On Friday 19 August at 7:45am US time, a ŠKODA Octavia vRS officially became the fastest two-litre supercharged production car in the world. The 600 bhp ‘salt spec’ racer, built to celebrate vRS’ 10th anniversary, registered a Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) sanctioned speed of 227.070 mph on Utah’s legendary Bonneville Salt Flat. The previous record for what is known as the G/PS category was 216 mph, set in August 1998. Driven by journalist Richard Meaden, the Octavia had set impressive speeds throughout the week and had broken the 200 mph barrier on six previous runs. The Octavia’s record breaking runs consisted of two official runs of Bonneville's famous five-mile course at 225.513 mph on Thursday 18 August, and a return run at 228.647 mph on Friday 19 August. “This is a truly stunning achievement,” said Robert Hazelwood, Director for ŠKODA UK. “Our goal was to break 200 mph as a celebration of 10 years of vRS, and we have achieved that, and significantly more. The success is a tribute to everyone who has worked so tirelessly and with such passion to make ŠKODA a world beater.” "There was a big crosswind during the final run, almost blew me off the course at 228 mph,” said Richard Meaden. “It was scary at the time but worth the palpatations!” The record means that Richard is officially a member of Bonneville's 'red hat club': those who have set a speed record at over 200mph. “I'm not big on hats, but I'll make an exception in this instance." The Milton Keynes based ŠKODA UK team behind the racer had spent the week leading up to Bonneville Speed Week putting the car through a rigorous dyno programme with the assistance of performance software and tuning outfit specialist REVO Technik.