Volkswagen Motorsport has revealed a new look for
the Polo GTI R5 rally car. The final livery draws inspiration from the Golf GTI
TCR racer, which launched with a similar paint scheme last year. VW says the Polo GTI R5’s colors
and graphic patterns underline the kinship between the rally car and the
standard GTI models. The paint scheme combines red, white and black in a
camouflage-like design that mimics the honeycomb structure of the standard Polo
GTI’s grille.
The launch livery is obviously applied as a film, so
customers can remove it and paint the car however they like. Volkswagen Motorsport has been
developing the Polo GTI R5 for 20 months now. During this time, the customer
rally car racked up 10,000 kilometers of testing in all sorts of
climate conditions.
The rally car features a 1.6-liter turbocharged
gasoline engine that makes 272 PS and 400 Nm of torque.
The unit is linked to a five-speed sequential racing transmission that sends
power to a permanent four-wheel-drive system.
Given the superior power and traction, the rally
Polo accelerates a lot faster than the DSG-equipped road car. The 0 to 100 km/h sprint takes 4.1 seconds, making the R5 2.6 seconds quicker. The
lower weight of 1,230 kg certainly plays a part in that too.
The first Polo GTI R5 models will start arriving at
customers in November and will compete in international and national rally
championships.
