Volkswagen Beetle GRC revealed: A 406kW rallycross special
The Volkswagen Beetle GRC is a race car developed for the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team and will race in this year's Red Bull Global Rallycross championship.
With the latest generation Beetle, Volkswagen has been keen to burnish the car's masculine credentials. It all started with the production car's squarer, flatter styling and now there's this bicep flexing beast.
The Beetle GRC's styling and drivetrain basics were previewed back in February under the energy drink brand Rockstar's blinding yellow and black racing livery.
Under the car's slightly longer and marginally wider bodywork lies a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that's been tuned to produce 406kW of power.
Power is channeled to the ground via a fixed-ratio all-wheel drive system and a six-speed sequential transmission. To help out with power delivery multi-plate limited-slip diffs have been fitted to both the front and rear axles.
As per competition rules, the Volkswagen Beetle GRC tips the scales at just 1,210kg. This means that the Beetle GRC can race from 0-96km/h (60mph) in a claimed 2.1 seconds.
The Beetle GRC has strut suspension at all four corners paired to ZF dampers. With suspension travel of around 231mm, the GRC should be able to handle the off-road sections of a rallycross track.
Stopping power is provided by vented disc brakes with four-piston aluminium calipers on all four wheels. The 17-inch alloy wheels are clad in Yokohama racing tyres. Behind the front rims are 356mm disc brakes, while 300mm discs are fitted at the rear.