Volkswagen confirms it is leaving World Rally Championship (2024)

FAQs

Why did Volkswagen leave the WRC? ›

“With the upcoming expansion in electrification of our vehicle range we must focus all our efforts on important future technologies. We far exceeded our sporting goals in the WRC, now we are realigning Volkswagen Motorsport and moving the vehicle technology of the future more starkly into focus,” he said.

Volkswagen Polo R WRC

Fifty two rallies, 43 wins, 87 podiums, 12 titles. The Polo R WRC is probably the single most dominant rally car of all time. That equates to an 82.7 per cent win ratio from a team that arrived in rallying from pretty much a standing start.

Volkswagen's Business Strategy During the War

In 1938, Adolf Hitler commissioned the production of the “people's car” – which is now known as the Volkswagen Beetle. The most attractive features of this car were its affordability and reliability. The naming of the car itself was part of Volkswagen's marketing strategy.

The Toyota Celica GT-Four, a rally car, was banned because of its illegal turbocharger. Prior to the mid-1980s, rally races, which are car races held on public roads and wooded trails, were won mostly by cars from European manufacturers.

Rally Cars

The team had moderate success but never won a WRC championship title; however, they did manage to win several individual rally stages throughout their tenure in WRC competition. In 1985, VW withdrew from WRC citing financial difficulties as well as lack of results despite their best efforts.

Sébastien Loeb holds the record for the most event victories, having won 80 times. Sébastien Ogier is second with 57 wins and Marcus Grönholm is third with 30 wins.

In the 45 seasons the Championship has been awarded, only 13 different manufacturers have won it; Lancia being the most successful, with 10 titles including 6 consecutive from 1987 to 1992.

Toyota (cont.)

This was followed by three further title wins for the company in 2018 and 2021 with the Yaris WRC, and then in 2022 with the GR Yaris Rally1.

The current record stands at 126km/h (78mph) from Rally Finland in 2016. This onboard is just from the rally's shakedown stage, with 2019 World Champion Ott Tänak onboard his new Hyundai i20 Rally1 car.

The Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID is a brand-new rally car designed to the revolutionary new-for-2022 FIA Rally1 technical regulations, which represent rallying's most significant technical overhaul for a generation.

What car brand has won the most rally races? ›

With a total amount of 10 manufacture titles, Lancia is, by far, the most successful car brand in rally history.

In September 2015, the EPA announced that Volkswagen had violated the Clean Air Act by installing illegal software into their diesel vehicles. Regulators in multiple countries began to investigate the automaker, and its stock price fell in value by a third in the days immediately after the news.

Many drivers are becoming more and more curious about the origins of the vehicles that they drive. Because of this, you may be wondering who owns Volkswagen. Volkswagen is owned and managed by Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, or Volkswagen AG.

The Polo R WRC was retired from competition at the end of the 2016 season when Volkswagen withdrew from the category. A Polo built to Group R5 specifications was later commissioned for use in the World Rally Championship-2.

The three-time constructors' champion became synonymous with the WRC in the 1990s and 2000s winning drivers' titles with Colin McRae (1995), Richard Burns (2001) and Petter Solberg (2003). Subaru, however, exited the WRC at the end of 2008 due to the global financial crisis.

The last time a factory-backed Subaru raced in the WRC was in 2008. The marque pulled out at the end of the year due to difficulties caused by the global financial crisis.

Audi Sport Quattro S1

One of the most iconic World Rally Championship cars ever made, the Quattro's dominant run was cut short by the banning of the Group B category after a series of fatal crashes.