Despite having withdrew from the World Rally Championship at the end of 2016 season, Volkswagen Motorsport has announced their intention to stay in the sport in April of 2017, alongside their plan to develop the Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 for their customer racing programme. Developed in a collaboration with Škoda, its 1.6-litre engine is capable of an output of 272 bhp and the torque 295 lb-ft.
The Polo GTI R5 was officially unveiled on December 2017, homologated in the summer of 2018 and delivered to their customers afterwards. The car made its first rally stage debut at 2018 Rally Catalunya, with former WRC champion Petter Solberg and the then French M-Sport driver Eric Camilli at the driver's seat, earning a 1-3 finish in the WRC-2 catagory with Camilli taking the win and Solberg in third place.
DiRT Rally 2.0
“VW focused on building and developing the Polo GTI R5 based on the success and experience from four consecutive World Championship titles with its predecessor, the Polo R WRC. There were high expectations for the Polo GTI to be one of the fastest R5 cars in the field, with the car making its successful competitive debut in Rally Spain in 2018 at the hands of Petter Solberg and co-driver Veronica Engen.”
— In-game info, DiRT Rally 2.0
The Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 is a R5 rally car in DiRT Rally 2.0.
Gallery
Polo_RACC_2018.jpg|Petter Solberg's Polo GTI R5 in 2018 Rally Catalunya. </gallery>
Trivia
- The Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 is the cover car for DiRT Rally 2.0.