Here's Your First Look At The VW Polo GTI R5 Customer Rally Car

VW is going rallying again, but as a supplier rather than a factory team this time around
Here's Your First Look At The VW Polo GTI R5 Customer Rally Car

Around this time last year, VW announced that it was quitting the World Rally Championship. Today, VW has revealed, err, its new rally car.

However, proceedings are a little different this time. It’s a more hands-off approach - rather than having a full factory effort, VW will instead make this new 270bhp Polo GTI R5 “available to professional teams and aspiring drivers to enable them to compete in championships across the globe.” And yes, that does include the WRC. It’s all about expanding VW’s customer motorsport programme, which already includes the Golf TCR for circuit racing.

We haven’t seen any images other than the teaser sketch above, but VW has revealed a handful of technical details. We know it’ll be powered by an inline-four cylinder engine, which will send power to all four wheels via a five-speed sequential gearbox.

No huge surprises there, given those aspects are mandated by regulations for the R5 class, the cars of which sit just below fully-fledged WRC machines. Those same regulations will also force the use a 1.6-litre engine (the production version uses a 2.0-litre lump), while the price will be capped at €180,000.

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Comments

=ash=

looks better than most rally cars

11/07/2017 - 12:55 |
2 | 2
5:19.55

In reply to by =ash=

It’s a concept, that’s why

11/07/2017 - 14:13 |
6 | 0
Anonymous

They must have missed the feeling of winning something

11/07/2017 - 12:56 |
108 | 2
=ash=

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

maybe they wanna show that VW is not dead, yet.

11/07/2017 - 13:03 |
12 | 0
KPS Lucky - Inactive

I would say it’s coming out of retirement and pulling a Massa, but VW is still offering the car for rallying…

Joke failed. Abort.

11/07/2017 - 13:01 |
4 | 6
TheDriver 1

Literally looks like a Golf

11/07/2017 - 13:25 |
0 | 0
Wreckless

Banned in Europe for emissions

11/07/2017 - 16:21 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

i find this a strange decision cause the skoda fabia r5 is the go-to r5 car now. the fabia is made with all sorts of parts from the volkswagen group (the alternator is from a tiguan for example) and skoda already sold over 150 of them wich is alot for a rally car. why would volkswagen decide to join? they’re competing with themselfs.

11/07/2017 - 16:31 |
16 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Could be marking the end of the best looking R5 car out there. RIP fabia R5

11/08/2017 - 09:36 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Right, who can loan me €180,000???

11/07/2017 - 16:35 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Are these cars street legal?

11/07/2017 - 16:49 |
0 | 0
Jackson 1

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Yes

11/08/2017 - 00:02 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

All wrc cars are

11/08/2017 - 17:57 |
0 | 0
White Comet

can I buy it for personal use and register it for the street? haha

11/07/2017 - 17:40 |
0 | 0

Its road legal from the factory

11/08/2017 - 09:37 |
0 | 0