Coming soon to the ERC: Volkswagen’s all-new Polo GTI R5

As with its road-going counterpart, due for launch at the end of the year, the Polo GTI R5 will be powered by a four-cylinder turbo engine with direct fuel injection putting out 270bhp. The rally version will also feature four-wheel drive, a sequential five-speed competition gearbox and the stringent safety requirements specified by motorsport’s world governing body, the FIA.

Respected Volkswagen Motorsport engineers François-Xavier Demaison and Gerard-Jan de Jongh have worked extensively on the project since the start of the year. Testing set to begin by the end of 2017.

“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.”

Volkswagen’s Polo GTI R5 will rival R5 cars from Citroën, Hyundai, M-Sport (Ford), Peugeot and ŠKODA once homologated by the FIA.