The Volkswagen Scirocco R, one of AUSmotive’s favourite cars, is set to feature in a new one make series to support the DTM category in Germany. To help kick things off for the first round at Hockenheim this weekend five motorsport legends will participate in the racing action. Names such as Derek Bell, Frank Biela, Martin Brundle, Jacques Lafitte and Carlos Sainz will take to the track in the 275bhp race-prepped Sciroccos.
The horsepower legends will be a series within a series during the full nine race Scirocco Cup and Volkswagen will invite five new legends for each race. It’s a similar approach to the Uber-Star Car concept used in the Australian MINI Challenge.
In all 25 cars will take to the track for the Scirocco Cup with 20 regular drivers competing for either the Junior Cup or Pro Cup, depending on their previous motorsport experience. As the Hockenheim round Frank Biela will be competing against his own daughter, Isabella, who is one of the Junior Cup entrants for 2010. A father and daughter competing against each other in the same race, can’t say that happens every day!
The other headline feature of the Scirocco Cup category is its use of bio natural gas fuel which reduces the CO2 emissions of the field by around 80%. Clean, green motor racing, then. This new series is a further development on the two Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Sciroccos that took part in the 2009 Nürburgring 24 hour race.
Based on the Scirocco R road car the race car uses a push-to-pass system that offers drivers shorts bursts of extra power. In standard trim the Scriocco Cup car produces 165kW (down from the road car’s 195kW), but the push-to-pass system boosts power up to 202kW. The system can be used strategically to initiate or defend overtaking moves.
Until we see a Scirocco on Australian shores—and there is at least one on its way—the Scirocco Cup provides great exposure for one of Volkswagen’s best looking models in their current line up. More pics and press releases follow below.