Volkswagen reveals new WRC livery
World Rally Championship 2014 winners Volkswagen has presented the second generation of the Polo R WRC in Autostadt, Wolfsburg. The works team has its sights set firmly on another successful defence of its titles with a new car and a new look.
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".
Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neu�er, Volkswagen Board Member for Technical Development, said: "The new Polo R WRC has undergone intense further development, both on the inside and the outside. Not only dmore dynamic and sporty than it did before, but our engineers have also been working meticulously on technical innovations under the bonnet and have improved many detailed aspects of the package that has been so successful for the past two years. The focus of this further development was on efficiency, reliability and performance. We can hardly wait to see the new Polo R WRC in Monte Carlo and at the other twelve rallies on four continents."
Continuity is the key to the driver line-up for 2015: double world champions S�bastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia are joined by teammates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila, then Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fl�ene. They will all 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.
by: Becca Chaplin