Having claimed the 2013 WRC Championship in a VW Polo R WRC rally car, Volkswagen now wants to use its WRC Champion, Frenchman Sébastien Ogier, in the development of a road-going performance version of the Polo, and other VW models.
VW Head of Development Heinz-Jakob Neusser rates Ogier highly and sees the Champion as an asset for the future.
“He has a special know-how in how performance cars should drive,” Neusser said in a recent interview. “We expect to use his skills more widely.”
Ogier is not unfamiliar to assisting VW, having already contributed to the development of one VW performance model, the upcoming 2015 VW Golf R. Neusser revealed that Ogier’s contribution to the development of the mentioned car was very positive.
VW has already spawned a 165 kW, front-wheel drive road-going version of Ogier’s 2013 rally car (see picture), though this model wasn’t developed together with the French star.
It is still unclear what model Ogier is likely to work on next.
– Charlen Raymond
