Volkswagen’s continues success at Rally Dakar gave them confidence to also try out WRC. And they’ve came up with this Polo R for the job which starts its career from 2013.

Maybe if the rules of World Rally Championship hadn’t been changed, we could see a VW Golf WRC instead of this. But now with the 1.6 liter displacement, direct injection and turbocharged engines, the Polo is the perfect candidate to go against cars like Ford Fiesta and Citroen DS3. The Polo R WRC is powered by a 300 bhp 1.6-litre TSI engine and has four-wheel drive.

That’s all the details VW has revealed so far. But they’ve also provided a cool promo video for the Polo R which is worth a look at:

“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.