"We have invited you to join us here in Olbia to announce Volkswagen's entry in the World Rally Championship starting in 2013." – These were the words used by Volkswagen Management Board Member Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg as he declared Volkswagen's entry into the most versatile of the four automobile world championships (World Rally Championship, WRC). In front of 200 journalists he unveiled the concept of the Polo R WRC, the car with which Volkswagen will compete from 2013 onwards, together with Luca de Meo, Head of Marketing of Volkswagen AG, and Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. Luca de Meo: "Almost exactly two years ago, in May 2009, the most recent model of the Polo was presented here in Sardinia. Today we are proud to show you the hottest Polo of all time – the Polo R WRC." For Kris Nissen and his team the World Rally Championship entry marks a new commitment. "We look forward to this new challenge and are working on this project with the same passion with which we won the Dakar Rally in the past three years," said Kris Nissen.

After three consecutive victories at the Dakar Rally, Volkswagen has set itself new aims in top-calibre sport. With three car corporations currently involved in the championship and global media coverage, the WRC offers an attractive, highly competitive environment for Volkswagen. By 2013 the Wolfsburg-based brand will develop a near-300-hp rally vehicle with a 1.6-litre TSI engine and four-wheel drive based on the Polo.

Universal technological challenge, new rules

The World Rally Championship offers the most diverse technological challenge in worldwide car racing to the manufacturers involved. Various types of ground have to be considered during the concept design of a WRC vehicle such as all manner of gravel, scree, tarmac, ice, snow and mud. The calendar this season features 13 WRC rounds on four different continents. Hence a world rally car has to function in extremely different climatic conditions, from the blazing heat of South America to the icy ride in Scandinavia.

In addition, new technical rules have come into effect in the WRC this year. For the first time, engines with a maximum displacement of 1,600 cc, direct injection and turbochargers are prescribed.

"The new Technical Regulations of the World Rally Championship are an ideal fit for Volkswagen's philosophy with respect to the development of production vehicles," says Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Management Board of the Volkswagen Brand, Development Division. "Downsizing, high efficiency and reliability are top priorities for our customers. The timing of the WRC debut is optimal for Volkswagen. The big task of engineering a vehicle that is competitive and capable of winning at a large number of challenges holds great appeal for us."

Proven squad, new aims: Volkswagen Motorsport's factory commitment

Volkswagen will prepare and enter the Polo R WRC as a factory commitment. In doing so, the Wolfsburg-based squad can build on structures which have been established over the past few years. The World Rally Championship is a new ambitious aim for the team that has won the "Dakar" in the past three years. "We can draw on an experienced and proven squad which has done an outstanding job in top-calibre sport in the past few years," says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "Even though the WRC is new territory for us and involves learning in many areas the team already meets some important prerequisites now as it brings an unwavering professional attitude and resolve to deliver absolute perfection to this commitment."

Volkswagen in the WRC: a success story

Volkswagen looks back on a small yet impressive rally tradition. Production-based vehicles from Wolfsburg celebrated rally racing successes in the middle end of the 1980s. The most important one: In 1986 the Swede Kenneth Eriksson and his German co-driver Peter Diekmann in the Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V claimed the world champion's title in the newly incepted Group A. In addition, Volkswagen vigorously promoted young rally talent through the Golf Rally Cup. The fielding of the Volkswagen Polo R WRC from 2013 onwards closes the loop: Today's WRC vehicles are still based on the philosophy of the Group A introduced back then, which enables rally sport to be conducted with vehicles based on production models.

Developing a competitive car for the FIA World Rally championship (WRC) is an extremely complex task. One minute it is c rouched low on smooth asphalt, the next it is travelling sideways on ice and snow, then it is tearing over rough gravel on tiptoes – then you have searing heat at one event and icy cold at the next. No other type of international motorsport offers such a wide range of climatic conditions and different surfaces . The cars in the World Rally Championship must overcome all these obstacles. Take this fine example of the flexibility that must be demonstrated by the car’s concept : there is a difference of about 10 0 mm between the ground clearance for gravel and asphalt. The chassis and engine must be as efficient as physically possible in the multitude of different conditions. Strong enough to take the strain, light enough to guarantee the necessary performance.

Development of the Polo R WRC

The Volkswagen engineers applied a minimalist approach during the 17 - month development of the Polo R WRC, which was based on the production Polo, from which the basic chassis was used. Every single component was subjected to numerous tests to determine the dimensions and weight, and was continuously improved over the course of the one and a half year development period . A strict schedule was adhered to, in order to ensure the homolog ated Polo R WRC was ready to be launched in time for the 2013 season: after the launch of the concept car in May 2011, Volkswagen initially tested a so-called 0 car as a component carrier , which completed its roll- out in the vineyards around Trier in autumn 2011. At the wheel of the concept car were Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management responsible for development, and rally legend Carlos Sainz .

The computer- assisted simulation of the first concept for the actual Polo R WRC began at the same time . The Volkswagen engineers then produced their own very special Christmas present: the first Polo R WRC was delivered to the foyer at Volkswagen Motorsport on Christmas Eve 2011. The roll- out followed at the Volkswagen test track in Ehra- Lessien in January 2012. Initial tests were also performed in Sweden and Spain. From March onwards , the technician s performed constant modificati o ns to the Polo R WRC. This included work on issues such as chassis kinematics and the lightweight construction of the car. The assembly of this improved version of the Polo R WRC, which will line up at the 2013 Rally Monte Carlo, ultimately began in September 2012 .

Powered by Wolfsburg

Every single component on the Polo R WRC underwent a series of fundamental processes on its way to attaining the “ready to race” status. First up was the theory: the parametric design process on CAD (computer aided design) systems is verified by computer- aided simulations (e.g. CFD – computer fluid dynamics) and tested in practice in wind tunnels and the Volkswagen Group’s altitude environmental test chamber. Only then did the extensive test drives follow. The resources available in Wolfsburg play a key role in designing and testing the chassis . Volkswa gen’s Design department made a significant contribution with valuable development work focussing on crash tests and safety. Tests on the car in wet conditions were also made possible by the engineers at the headquarters in Wolfsburg.

“Experience plays a major role when developing the chassis,” said François - Xavier Demaison, Technical Project Manager WRC. “ The know- how acquired in previous years allows you to take short cuts without going through a long simulation and test phase that would otherwise be necessary. This is the case, for example, when it comes to ground clearance, kinematics, suspension or the configuration of the differential. For example, you can spend many kilometres slowly adjusting the dimensions of the undercarriage until you find the optimal configuration. It saves an awful lot of time if you already know how strong you need to make a part . ”

The result, under the guidance of Volkswagen Motorsport, is a high - tech jigsaw consisting of about 3,000 pieces, of which 1,360 were designed from s cratch for use in motorsport – not including the engine and gearbox .

State- of - the - art engine

When designing the Polo R WRC’s engine, which consists of around 300 individual parts, Volkswagen took a completely different approach to that used in the development of the chassis. The result is the 315 - hp, 1.6- litre engine . The automated interplay between CAD design and simultaneous simulation using CFD processes led, among other things, to the optimal design of the intake ports . Volkswagen took a strictly analytical approach to decisions for or against various concepts within the strict regulations of the World Rally Championship.

Over the course of the development process, the Engine Development department at Volkswagen Motorsport tested all the options permitted by the regulations and simulated their dependence on each other. “To a very large degree, the engine for the World Rally Championship has been designed using electronically- aided development methods , in order to ensure that the right decisions were made, ” said Dr. Donatus Wichelhaus, Head of Engine Development at Volkswagen Motorsport. “The cooperation of our colleagues in Volkswagen’s Production and Research departments was invaluable here. They were of great assistance, particularly in the automated development steps during the design phase – such as those used for the intake geometry.”

Throughout the entire process, Dr. Wichelhaus’s team of engineers checked a wide range of different solutions. Two different st roke/bore ratios, three different cylinder head concepts, nine different intake port geometries, countless injector variants, and two different valve diameters were checked, with the best solutions selected for the final engine. This general approach resul ted in a largely problem - free engine development, which produced impressive test results right from the outset . The so- called anti - lag system to reduce turbo lag received particular praise from the Volkswagen drivers during testing.