Volkswagen R Announces Asian Ambitions

The 2011 season of the Scirocco R-Cup already kicked off last weekend, on the Zhuhai Circuit and, as with any manufacturer - sanctioned event, it took full advantage of its notoriety for the series to become a hit. To comprise five races this year, the Cup will be wearing for the first time the Scirocco R-Cup name, because of the involvement of the car maker's tuning division into the sport.

The five races of the season will be divided between China (three races) and Malaysia (tow races). At all five events, the R division will try to make itself as visible as possible, by staging various displays, including a vehicle exhibition showcasing the road models of Volkswagen R.

According to Ulrich Riestenpatt, the man in charge with running the R division, the start of the collaboration with the Chinese version of the Scirocco Cup will allow the German company's R models access onto a booming market.

“For Volkswagen R the Scirocco R-Cup in China is a very good platform for supporting our own internationalisation strategy. We will soon also have a presence in the key Chinese market with our successful Golf R and Scirocco R models,” said the executive on Monday, when the announcement of the involvement in the Cup was made.

“In addition, we will be progressively expanding our programme of R-Line equipment packs.”

The exact details of the R entry on the local market has not yet been made, but as with any other high-performance brand, VW's R will be targeted at a very specific audience.