VW Motorsport has come up with a special version of its subcompact sedan Virtus for the Indian Touring Car Championship, phasing out the Polo it used earlier (see video).
As one would expect, the car is a top GT spec equipped with a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine boosted to 215 PS (212 hp / 158 kW) and 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) of torque. In comparison, the street-legal version commands 65 hp and 50 Nm less than that. The drive stays on the front axle, but the gearbox is six-speed sequential instead of the usual seven-speed DCT.
On the outside, the car is red with a black-and-white racing livery applied on top of the paint. The 17-inch alloy wheels are new as well, and the interior makes use of two bucket seats along with a roll cage, while the rear bench goes away to minimize weight. As a result, the car tips the scales at 1,080 kg (2,380 lbs), a substantial improvement over the original 1,275 kg (2,810 lbs).
The Virtus racer will hit the racetrack for the first time at a dedicated event in Chennai on October 8-9, 2022.