• Polo GTI R5 customer racing car enjoys rally success around the world

• Feedback from customer outings all over the world is incorporated in technical fine tuning

• Production of the Polo GTI R5 stepped up to meet the sustained high demand

Fine-tuning for the car with the winning touch: Volkswagen Motorsport is optimizing the Polo GTI R5, based on the experiences of customer teams. The 200-kW (272-PS) four-wheel-drive car is used in a diverse range of rallies all over the world. The findings made during these outings flow directly into the process of updating and maintaining the product: the Polo GTI R5 will first receive modified suspension parts in spring, while new components for other key areas of the car will be developed over the course of the year.

“The success story of the Polo GTI R5 is overwhelming. In the customer's hands, it had already claimed more than 75 victories and 125 podium finishes by the end of 2019,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets. “However, it is not only the success of our customers that is important to us, but also their experience in a wide range of conditions – whether on asphalt, gravel, or ice and snow. Our engineers use this feedback to make detailed improvements to the Polo GTI R5. Our goal is to ensure that the Polo GTI R5 remains successful.”

While new chassis components are already being used by customers, a larger package of detailed improvements will be developed over the course of the year and homologated for use in competitions including the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), and national championships. Volkswagen is also stepping up production to meet the huge demand – 20 percent more Polo GTI R5 than initially planned will now be built in 2020. Production will continue beyond 2020.

A high degree of reliability, high performance – Volkswagen is preparing the Polo GTI R5 for the future

“As is well known, if you are not moving forward, you are always moving backward in the world of motorsport,” said François-Xavier “FX” Demaison, Technical Director at Volkswagen Motorsport. “As such, it is hugely important to be constantly working on ideas and solutions for improved performance and durability. Thanks to the comprehensive feedback we receive from our customers, we have been working on updates for the Polo GTI R5 since last year and the first detailed improvements are already being delivered to customers.”

To make this possible, countless amounts of feedback from teams and drivers currently running the Polo GTI R5 in series from the Arctic Circle to Africa, and North and South America to Europe, have been collected and analyzed. Volkswagen introduced a professional feedback system to make the process simpler and more direct.