VW
Polo R WRC Racecar
In
top form, both technically and visually: Volkswagen has presented the second
generation of the Polo R WRC in Autostadt, Wolfsburg. The works team from
Wolfsburg has its sights set firmly on another successful defence of its titles
in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with a new car and a new look.
Volkswagen completed a clean sweep of all the World Championship titles when
the Polo R WRC made its debut in 2013, before repeating this impressive feat
last season. Continuity is the key to the driving line-up for 2015: double
world champions Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) and team-mates
Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) and Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene
(N/N) have been roll down the starting ramp and head onto the first special
stage of the year for Volkswagen at the legendary Rally Monte Carlo on 22
January 2015.
Title
defence in blue, blue and white: new design for the next generation of Polo R
WRC.
The
most striking change to the Polo R WRC for the 2015 season is its exterior. The
white has given way to dark-blue. White and light-blue stripes see the
dark-blue front merge into the white rear, which features a towering new rear
wing. Also integrated in the new design are Volkswagen's other partners in the
World Rally Championship: Red Bull, lubricant partner Castrol, Volkswagen
Financial Services, tyre partner Michelin, chassis and clutch specialist ZF
Sachs, and supplier OMP.
Volkswagen
engineers have been hard at work implementing many new ideas under the bonnet.
The hydraulically activated gearbox, which is operated via a shift paddle on
the steering column, represents the biggest innovation. Furthermore, three
quarters of last year's components were checked and many of them optimised,
with the aim of making everything "simpler, lighter, and stronger.
