Find it hard to picture your city slicker — that gunmetal grey Volkswagen Polo you drive — flying through the air, leaping over bumps and smashing its way through dense scrub? Well, Volkswagen does not. The German carmaker has announced that it will make a return to the World Rally Championship in 2013 and its steed of choice is going to be based on the Polo. Called the Volkswagen Polo R WRC, the car will be powered by a 1.6-litre TSI engine that makes nearly 300 bhp. According to FIA World Rally Championship regulations, the car will be a four-wheel drive, have direct injection and will also be turbocharged. The concept reveals the car will have a wider body, a new hood with vents, a massive rear wing and an air scoop on the roof.
Of course, Volkswagen has a bit of a history in the World Rally Championship — the eighties saw its cars take part in plenty of rallies, even winning one World Rally title. Kenneth Eriksson and Peter Diekmann piloted their Volkswagen Golf GTI to victory in 1986.
Other than the Polo, the Skoda Fabia and Suzuki Swift are the only hatchbacks sold in the Indian market that currently take part in major rallies abroad. The Polo, of course, is also a part of the racing scene in India. Don’t forget the Polo Cup forms a big part of the current National Racing Championship.
What other forms of motorsport does Volkswagen take part in? Well, it runs the Volkswagen Jetta Cup in China and the Scirocco R Cup in Germany and its Race Touaregs have dominated the Dakar Rally in the recent past.
So, when can we see a road legal version of what looks set to be simply the hottest hatch around? Knowing Volkswagen, it might well be soon.
