PoloDriver

At last! Volkswagen Motorsport officially unveiled its 2013 World Rally Championship Polo R WRC competition car and driver line-up at a showy launch in Monaco last night. In front of the world-famous Monte Carlo Casino, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia drove the 315bhp, four-wheel drive Polo R WRC over a symbolic starting ramp, formally launching Volkswagen Motorsport’s 2013 WRC campaign after 17 months of rigourous and non-stop testing. And, as expected, the Polo R WRC is an impressive-looking beast – there’s no doubting both its and Volkswagen Motorsport’s intentions.

Looking broadly similar yet more aggressive than the concept car unveiled in May 2011, the 2013 Polo R WRC gets squarer wheel arches, meaner-styled bumpers and a proper rally car roof scoop. Power comes from a 1.6-litre TSI engine, developing 315bhp, sent to all four wheels. With a weight of 1200kg, the car will accelerate to 62mph from rest in 3.9 seconds, while gears are changed via a six-speed sequential ‘box. Wheels are 8 x 18” in tarmac spec and 7 x 15” on gravel, while braking is dealt with by 355mm and 300mm ventilated discs on tarmac and gravel surfaces respectively.

Two of the Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R WRC crews were already known. French duo Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have been campaigning Škoda Fabia S2000s in the WRC this year, while Jari-Matti Latvala and Miika Anttila were announced a few weeks ago. Both pairings have seven WRC wins to their name. From the fourth round of the 2013 championship, a third car driven by Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Andreas Mikkelsen will also run, co-driven by Mikko Markkula. Volkswagen Polo R WRC partners include Red Bull, Castrol and Michelin.

‘The launch of the Polo R WRC, which is now ready and raring to go, heralds a new era in motorsport for Volkswagen. The FIA World Rally Championship offers Volkswagen the opportunity to prove its sporty qualities in an environment, in which our cars have always been at home: on real streets,’ said Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management responsible for development. ‘In doing so, we are not using extraordinary prototypes, but a Polo based on the standard production car. This proximity to the product and customer played an important role in our decision to commit to this form of global motorsport.’

‘Volkswagen has prepared intensively for the World Rally Championship, and every single member of the team can hardly wait to finally get stuck into the competition with the Polo R WRC,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. ‘The World Rally Championship is a new challenge for us, and one that we are confronting with a host of good ideas and a strong team. Whether Sébastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala, Andreas Mikkelsen or the team in the background, we have first-class personnel on board. Seventeen months of intensive development, testing and a lot of innovation have gone into the Polo R WRC. For what it’s worth, the Polo R WRC is also, in my eyes, a beautiful and spectacular rally car.’

2013 VOLKSWAGEN POLO R WRC – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

ENGINE
Type: Straight-four engine with turbocharger and intercooling, transversally mounted in front of the front axle
Displacement: 1600 cc
Power output: 232kW/315bhp at 6250rpm
Torque: 425Nm (313lb ft) at 5000rpm
Air restrictor: 33mm (FIA regulation)
Engine control unit: Bosch

POWER/TRANSMISSION
Gearbox: Sequential, six-speed racing gear box, transversally mounted
Final drive: Permanent four-wheel drive with fixed drive between the front and rear axles, multi-plate limited-slip differentials, front and rear
Clutch: Hydraulically actuated double-disk sintered metal clutch

CHASSIS/SUSPENSION
Front/rear: McPherson struts, dampers from ZF
Suspension travel: approximately 180mm on tarmac, approximately 275mm on gravel
Steering: Servo-assisted rack and pinion steering
Braking system: Ventilated disc brakes (front Ø 355mm on tarmac; front and rear Ø 300mm on gravel) aluminium brake callipers (four calipers, front and rear)
Wheels: Size 8 x 18-inch for tarmac, 7 x 15-inch for gravel
Tyres: Michelin competition tyres

CHASSIS/BODYWORK
Build: FIA-conformant reinforced steel body

DIMENSIONS/WEIGHT
Length/width/height: 3976/1820/1356mm
Track width: 1610mm
Wheelbase: 2480mm
Minimum weight: 1200kg

PERFORMANCE
Acceleration: 0–100km/h (62mph) in 3.9 seconds
Top speed: Up to 200km/h (124mph) (depending on gear ratio)

The 2013 Polo R WRC competition car will have its competitive debut on the Rallye Monte Carlo which starts on 15 January. We can’t wait for this exciting new chapter in the Polo’s competition career.

Volkswagen Motorsport officially unveiled its 2013 World Rally Championship contender and team tonight in a glitzy launch in Monaco, ahead of the first round of the series, the Rallye Monte Carlo which starts on 15 January. The finished car appears to be almost the same as the development versions, the livery unchanged with the exception of Red Bull as the main sponsor. The driver line-up is Sébastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala, and, as expected, Andreas Mikkelsen, who graduates from the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, where he drove for sister Volkswagen Group company Škoda in a Fabia S2000. We’ll bring you further details of the exciting 2013 Polo R WRC as we have them.

Ahead of the Rally Monte Carlo, the first round of the 2013 World Rally Championship, Volkswagen Motorsport is to officially unveil the Polo R WRC in all its livery glory this weekend in Monaco. The glitzy ceremonial unveiling will finally peel away the layers of ‘disguise’ of the testing cars and is expected to include ‘many motorsport celebrities’ such as Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen, Markku Alén, Jacky Ickx and Hans-Joachim Stuck. The German outfit will also unveil the driver pairings, which are expected to be number one signings Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, as well as number two Jari-Matti Latvala and a possible third car ‘junior’ squad headed by Andreas Mikkelsen. We’ll bring you news of the biggest Volkswagen Motorsport launch for years as we get it.

UPDATE: Volkswagen Motorsport has revealed that the Polo R WRC Street road car first seen earlier in the year will be unveiled via a live website feed on Saturday 8 December at 16h30, with the Polo R WRC car following at 19h30.

Following its team performance at Rally Mexico earlier this year, Volkswagen Motorsport has been back in South America testing the Polo R WRC ahead of the full-scale assault on the 2013 World Rally Championship which starts in January at Rallye Monte Carlo. Both Sébastien Ogier and second signing Jari-Matti Latvala have been putting the car through its paces, although a collision with a member of the public’s car when Latvala and the Polo were returning to a service area no doubt cast a cloud over proceedings. The car still looks competitive, though, and we’ve not got long to wait to find out if that’s the case.

[Video source: rutarally.com]

With the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship now at a close, it was a mixed last round for Volkswagen Motorsport’s pair of Škoda Fabia S2000s. Rally Spain (8-11 November) saw a retirement at the end of the first day for Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, while Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Andreas Mikkelsen and his co-driver Ola Fløene finished 21st after day one’s stages due to an accident. Following the cermonial start in Barcelona, slippery conditions on gravel and tarmac made life difficult for the drivers, but both Ogier and Mikkelsen admirably closed the gap between their S2000 cars and the more powerful WRC racers.

Volkswagen Motorsport then started to run out of luck. Ogier and Ingrassia’s bonnet lifted, losing them time, and shortly afterwards Mikkelsen and Fløene were struck by Petter Solberg and Thierry Neuville, damaging their suspension. Just after the start of Special Stage 6, Ogier and Ingrassia had to retire due to a drivetrain fault, and although Mikkelsen and Fløene completed the event to Rally 2 regulations, they did gather valuable experience for 2013. Although their rally pairing ended this season, Mikkelsen hopes to be named the third Polo driver for Volkswagen Motorsport’s assault on the 2013 WRC rounds, alongside Ogier and Finn Jari-Matti Latvala.

‘At “Monte” at the beginning of the year we crashed, and now at the season finale we have had technical problems. Other than that, the season went superbly,’ said Ogier, expressing his satisfaction with his first year for Volkswagen. ‘And, honestly speaking, I’m also proud of ten class victories. Whenever we saw the finish we were the quickest S2000 car. But I’m also glad that the year of transition is over. Now I’m incredibly excited about the beginning of the hot phase with the Polo R WRC – and about being able to compete with the top-flight drivers again at Rallye Monte Carlo.’

Volkswagen Junior Andreas Mikkelsen assessed the season in a positive light as well. ‘For me, it’s been a brilliant year. Of course I’m proud to be the first driver in history to have defended my IRC title,’ says the pleased Norwegian. ‘And the year with Volkswagen was enormously important for me, too. Driving in such a large team and getting to know the processes was completely new to me. I’m happy that I received good feedback from the team and very much hope to become the third Volkswagen WRC driver next year.’

Before the start of the ‘Monte’, the Volkswagen Motorsport team will head to Mexico, France and Sweden to push the Polo R WRC still further. The 300bhp, four-wheel drive, 1.6-litre rally car will make its much-aniticipated and long-awaited competitive debut on the Rallye Monte Carlo on 15 January 2013. All eyes will, finally, be watching it.