VW Motorsport is all set to make its entry into WRC, the pinnacle of rallying on January 15th next year.
The team will field two Polo R WRC rally cars which will be piloted by the French driver Sebastian Ogier who won the previous edition of the race of champions and the Finn Jari-Matti Latvala.
The Polo R in its race trim produces 300 bhp of power and an adequate 350 Nm of torque, courtesy of the 1.6 litre TSI engine. The power is laid on the grueling rally courses with the help an all wheel drive system. A road going version of the Polo R is expected to be showcased at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.
The Polo R WRC dispatches 0-100 kmph in just 4.1 seconds making it a worthy competitor. The German hot hatch will face stiff competition from the Citroen DS3 WRC which is continuing its invincible run in the able hands of the rally ace Sebastian Loeb.
Apart from Citroen DS3 WRC, the Polo R WRC will have to battle it out with Ford Fiesta RS WRC and the Mini John Cooper Works WRC. However the Ford and Mini withdrew their factory support to the teams racing their cars starting from 2013.
VW's venture into the world of rallying with their own team gives a ray of hope to the sport which has seen manufacturers like Subaru, Ford and Mini moving out. Moreover, VW would get a lots of technical inputs from WRC which eventually would find their way into road cars of the future.
[Source: VW-polo.net]
