The Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 has a new look. The final livery for the 200-kW (272-PS) rally car is a reinterpretation of the spectacular optics that were also realised in the Golf GTI TCR touring car. “The Polo GTI R5 looks really exciting,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets, about the four-wheel drive car for rally customers. As of November, the first cars will be delivered and will compete in international and national rally championships in the future.
Nico Mühr, Exterior Design Volkswagen, describes the philosophy behind the dynamic look of the Polo GTI R5, which, as is typical in racing, was applied as a film: “We purposely used many of the design elements from the production vehicles of the GTI family for the Polo GTI R5. In addition to the typical colours of red, white, black and the distinctive line on the front grill, it is the GTI icons with their honeycomb structure in particular that give the rally Polo its distinctive look. Ultimately, the Polo GTI R5, despite its extreme rally look, remains clearly identifiable as – no doubt the fastest – member of the Polo family.”
Perfect preparation: 20 months of development, 10,000 test kilometres
The bonnet conceals a 1.6-litre turbo engine with direct injection, which enables the four- door car weighing just under 1,230 kilos to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds. The new rally Polo has a development period of 20 months behind it and has completed test drives of over 10,000 kilometres in all manner of climatic conditions. This diligence is due in part to the regulations. “Only minimal technical modifications are allowed to be made to an R5 during the specified motorsport lifetime of five years,” explained Gerard Jan de Jongh, Technical Project Lead Polo GTI R5. “This is why we prepared ourselves as well and thoroughly as possible.”
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