VW GTi Wothersee concept to hit dirt

The annual rally of all things speedy in the Volkswagen Group empire heads for the dirt this year.

A pair of Polo concepts inspired by VW's World Rally Championship  launch and a baby Skoda kitted out for special stage duties are the headline acts at the GTI Treffen gathering in Worthersee, Austria. 

The combination of official factory concepts with some of the most outrageous aftermarket customisations allowed on the streets makes this a must-see for VW fans.

The competition-based Polo R-WRC has been dubbed the "hottest Polo ever" by VW development head Dr Ulrich Hackenberg. The car generates around 220kW from a 1.6-litre turbo engine, which is good enough to push the hot hatch to 100km/h in just 4.1 seconds. 

Joining the competition vehicle on the stage will be a WRC Street concept car that will preview a limited edition run of the vehicle. It is essentially a blinged-up Polo R with a 2.0-litre engine good for 162kW and what VW calls "motorsport-like performance".

VW Australia spokesman Karl Gehling says the WRC Street is purely a concept but points out that the Golf GTI Cabriolet on show at Worthersee as a production model was shown as a concept there this time last year. "History shows our concepts tend to make it to the showroom and I'd have thought there would be some appetite in Australia for a Polo with that sort of performance," Gehling notes.

Sister brand Skoda is also on the rally route. Skoda has been the standout in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge since joining the series in late 2009 and its success with the Fabia has helped develop the format for VW's WRC assault next year. The Citigo Rally concept runs on 18-inch rims and is fitted with the requisite rally wings and skirts.

Luxury brand Audi is previewing what will almost certainly be a future production model in its RS Q3 concept. The SUV is powered by a 2.5-litre turbo engine with 265 kW. It will be joined by a  vehicle with just 2.3kW in the form of the e-bike Worthersee.

Audi says the high end "pedelec" is built for sport and trick. The bike uses carbon fibre reinforced plastic and a lithium-ion battery mounted in the frame to help keep weight to 26kg. Riders can chose from five programs that regulate the battery's output and Audi says maximum torque is 250Nm and the bike takes two and a half hours to recharge using a home power plug. That lets the e-bike operate in electric only mode at up to 50km/h for 50-70km.