TimeSport

 The Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo Tech edition is limited to only 1,000 cars

This is the Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo Tech, a limited edition version of the Fabia Monte Carlo that adds sat-nav and Bluetooth – normally an £875 option – for no extra cost.

Limited to 1,000 cars in the UK, and on-sale now, there are two engine choices available, with 500 each of the 104bhp 1.2-litre TSI petrol model and 104bhp 1.6-litre TDI diesel being offered.

Prices for the Fabia Monte Carlo Tech start at £11,990 for the petrol model, and £12,960 for the diesel. Each car is available in a choice of two colour combinations – red with a contrasting black roof, or white with a black roof – and both come with five-speed manual gearboxes.

All Monte Carlo Tech models include piano black body trim on the exterior, black covers on the door mirrors, a black radiator grille, smoked headlights and 17-inch black alloys.

Inside, in addition to the Amundsen satellite navigation system, there are black sports seats, which feature bigger side bolsters, a black roof lining a leather-wrapped steering wheel with red stitching, and a leather-covered handbrake and gearstick gaiter. Silver door sill guards and metal pedals complete the look.

The original Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo was launched in January 2011 to celebrate 100 years of the Monte Carlo rally. The anniversary also tied in with Skoda’s 110th anniversary of competing in motor sport.

Skoda UK claims that the Fabia Monte Carlo model has been a success for the firm, with more than 4,000 sold since the car went on sale.

= Official pictures and details of the BMW Concept X4, ahead of its debut at the Shanghai Motor Show

We already know BMW is planning to plug the gaps in its standard line-up with the 2 Series and 4 Series. Now it’s turning its attention to its X models as it introduces the Concept X4 at the Shanghai Motor Show later this month.

This previews a production car set to be unveiled early next year – just as BMW introduced the 4 Series Coupe Concept at the start of this year, with the production model set for release at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Tone down the lights, wheels and bumpers, and the idea is you’re looking at a showroom-ready car.

There’s a clear design link between the 4 Series Coupe Concept and the X3, with both featuring a fresh LED headlamp pattern that flows straight into the grille. The shape of the lights is a little more angular than the curvy units fitted to the 4 Series.

In profile, the X4 has the same low-slung, high-riding silhouette as the X6. There’s a rising feature line running back from the front wing, joined by another which curves up around the rear wheelarches. The chunky wheelarches are almost squared off – a trick Jeep uses to make its cars look more muscular.

As with other BMW X models, matt black plastic cladding surrounds the wheelarches and runs along the side skirts.

From head-on, BMW has marked out the X4 as one of its coupés by making the outer air intakes a lot more pronounced than the central intake.

Move to the rear, and the car looks a bit like the new 3 Series GT. The bumper is a lot deeper, though, and features some rugged underbody protection and two large exhaust pipes.

BMW has altered the dimensions of the X3 to help create a more dynamic look for the X4. It’s exactly the same length, at 4,648mm, and has the same 2,810mm wheelbase, but it’s 53mm lower and 34mm wider. This gives a similarly planted look to the X6.

That extra width could be added to the track of the X4 – as it is in the X6 – which could help make it feel a little more stable through corners. Add the lower roofline and lower centre of gravity, and the X4 looks set to be one of the best-handling SUVs in the BMW line-up.

No pictures of the interior have been released yet, but BMW will probably keep the layout near-identical to the X3’s, as it has done with the X6, in an effort to minimise development costs. Due to the sloping roofline, there’ll be a little less headroom and a smaller boot – so while the X3 has a 550-litre load area, the X4 will probably have around 500 litres of space.

BMW hasn’t provided any details about engines or transmissions – only that the X4 will come with the xDrive four-wheel-drive system.

The car will probably share engines with the X3, as the X6 shares X5 engines. That means a 181bhp 2.0-litre diesel in the X4 20d, a 254bhp 3.0-litre straight-six in the X4 30d and a flagship using the same engine but producing 309bhp.

BMW does offer a rear-wheel-drive version of the X3, but hasn’t confirmed whether a 2WD X4 will be available.

The company will be hoping to continue the success story started by the X6, which has consistently sold well since it was introduced in 2008. For every two-and-a-half X5s that found homes globally last year, BMW sold one X6. Similar sales figures for the X4 are likely.

The car will be built alongside the X3, X5 and X6 at the Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, US. Prices are expected to start at around £30,000 when order books for the X4 open early next year.