SNEAK previews don't come much sneakier than this - the first "official" pictures released by Skoda of its new high performance SUV.

The new Kodiaq vRS is due to be unveiled at October's Paris Motor Show and Skoda clearly don't want to give too much away at this stage - the pictures released by the Czech company are so dark as to reveal hardly any detail other than a re-designed vRS badge.

However, we do know that the sporty new off-roader will have all wheel drive and be powered by the most potent production diesel engine in the brand's 120 year history - a 236bhp twin-turbo diesel.

The vRS initials have adorned Skoda's sportiest production models since 2000 when the Octavia vRS was first launched, eventually followed by a vRS version of the Fabia.

The KodiaqvRS is the brand's first SUV to join the vRS club and Skoda is marking its arrival with the redesigned vRSlogo which features red highlights.