Whoosh… no need to hold your breath any longer. The first car of true rallying pedigree is here in India at last – complete with the vRS badge. A car that proclaims, “I’m special”, whichever way you look at it, zips from standstill to 100kmph in under nine seconds and stirs you up with its fuel efficiency just as much it does with performance. This is a car that will acquit its role as family vehicle with elan even as it harboure all the fiery turbulence to feed the high-octane demons that lurk within every speed enthusiast’s veins, says Yogendra Pratap who obviously has had the time of his life behind the sporty wheel of the Octavia RS.

Petrol engines are passe - they are neither efficient nor have they retained the performance edge over the diesels. That is the general refrain going around the country these days. But this is just a cycle that is about to turn another full circle. We first had inefficient diesels because they were enough to whet the car-buying public's appetite. Then we got some contemporary diesels - highly efficient, extremely frugal with decent performance to boot. And now Skoda-Auto has once again upped the tempo by introducing a contemporary high tech petrol engine, that rivals the diesels for fuel efficiency and gives the petrolheads a performance high that is difficult to match.

And Skoda-Auto India has chosen just the right vehicle for the entry of this engine, that, in a similar state of tune as the one in India, does duty on a range of Audis, including the Audi TT. The Skoda Octavia RS! Inspired by the marque's motorsport heritage and the Octavia's game performances in the World Rallying Championship, the RS goes one better than most hot hatches - it is the very same family car with a dual personality!

Not only does the Octavia RS provide all that any man with or without racing genes could ask for but it also is tame enough to be used as an everyday car, doing the normal chores of point A to point B transfers, shuttling between homes and offices and taking the family out for a shopping trip in the evening, a weekend getaway or even an extended annual holiday, all with great aplomb and without causing any substantial lightening of your wallet or bank balance.