Volkswagen's Returning To Rallying With New Polo GTI R5


Volkswagen disappointed rally fans when it withdrew from the World Rally Championship at the end of last season. Now, less than a year later, the German automaker has announced its return to the rally scene, just in a very different capacity.

Instead of fielding its own Polo R WRC in the top-tier rally series, VW is preparing to offer another version of the Polo to customer teams.

Previewed for the first time in this teaser sketch, the new Polo GTI R5 is being built by the same people behind the previous version – including VW Motorsport technical director François-Xavier “FX” Demaison and Sebastien Ogier's race engineer Gerard-Jan de Jongh.

Full specifications haven't been announced, but the R5 is being based on the new Polo GTI with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine employing direct injection to channel 270 horsepower to all four wheels through a five-speed sequential gearbox.

“With the Polo GTI R5 we are hoping to transfer our expertise from four WRC titles to customer racing successfully, and offer a first-class racing machine for countless rally championships from national series to the WRC,” said Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets. “Before the first race outing next year, we will subject the Polo GTI R5 to rigorous testing to make sure it is prepared for the extremely varied track conditions around the world.”

Once it's released in the second half of next year, the Polo GTI R5 will join the Golf GTI TCR touring car in Volkswagen's growing customer racing portfolio. It's a well-trodden path for the VW Group, with other divisions offering customer racing cars like the Lamborghini Huracan GT3, Bentley Continental GT3, Audi RS3 LMS, Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport, Seat Leon Cup, and (most pertinently) the Skoda Fabia R5 that competes in the same class.

Carscoops

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Limited Edition Ford GT 'Competition Series' Is All About The Track

Image
Ford's new GT Competition Series was built with weight-saving in mind, but also with an improved center of gravity for better road-holding. Among its features, you'll notice the lightweight carbon fiber racing stripes, A-Pillars and side mirrors, as well as the unique race-inspired Perspex acrylic engine hatch with integrated venting. Thanks to the manual latch and the carbon fiber prop rod, weight near the roof has been reduced, though Ford engineers went even further in their quest to make the car lighter, by making the bulkhead Gorilla Glass behind the driver about half as thick (and as light) as on other models. "The Ford GT has racing in its blood," said Ford exec Raj Nair, while adding that the Competition Series "was developed with the most hardcore track enthusiasts in mind, providing a tailored set of lightweight features and unique livery to match." There are also plenty of remaining performance features from the production car, such as ...
Read more

Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet Is A Crossover For Droptop Lovers

Image
Droptop crossovers have always been rather odd and the T-Roc Cabriolet is no different. It will be the only convertible Volkswagen on sale for the foreseeable future and will celebrate its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Rather than simply removing the roof of the standard T-Roc, Volkswagen has drastically altered the vehicle’s structure and body. In fact, its wheelbase is 37 mm longer than the standard T-Roc while its overall length is up by 34 mm. In addition, the Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet features structural strengthening in the underbody, side panels, cross members, doors, and windscreen frame to make up for the lack of a roof. The folding fabric roof developed by Volkswagen retracts in just nine seconds at speeds of up to 19 mph (30.5 km/h) and is similar in operation to the roof of the outgoing Golf Cabriolet. The presence of the soft top reduces trunk space by 161 liters down from the 284 liters of the run-of-the-mill T-Roc. We don’t think bu...
Read more

Alpine A110 Hits Geneva With Pure, Legende And GT4 Versions

Image
Renault’s reborn Alpine brand has been getting rave reviews for its new A110 and now, as promised, it’s revealed new versions of its coupe at the Geneva Motor Show. Following the success of the sold-out Premiere Edition, the A110 will now be offered in Pure and Legende trims. The A110 Pure is targeted at driving enthusiasts. It features one-piece Sabelt sports seats that weigh barely more than 13 kilograms (28.6 pounds) each and, combined with other weight-saving measures, helps keep the curb weight below 1,100 kg ( 2,425 lbs). It’s not entirely stripped out, though, and still comes with features like air-conditioning and satellite navigation. Buyers can also add upgraded Brembo brakes and an adaptive exhaust system and can upgrade to the adjustable comfort seats. Those come standard on the Legende model, which is geared more towards every day driving and grand touring and comes with leather upholstery. Customers can also choose between two Focal sound systems and two wheel...
Read more