VW Scirocco Debuts at Race of Champions in Beijing

The Volkswagen Scirocco Cup car made its debut at the 2009 Race of Champions (ROC) in Beijing earlier this week. Every year, ROC gathers the biggest names from the world of motorsport, and so was the case this year.

Volkswagen factory driver and Dakar Rally winner Giniel de Villiers and Formula One World Champion Jenson Button, lined up on the grid in motorsport prepared versions of the Volkswagen Scirocco, to race for the title of Champion of Champions.

The grid comprising 16 top-class drivers competed against each other in a series of vehicles, including identical Scirocco Cup racers, battling in teams for the ‘Nations Cup’, and individually for the coveted overall title.

The pairing of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher and current F1 driver Sebastian Vettel successfully defended the ‘Nations Cup’ for Germany, while former DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom claimed the overall title win for the third time.

Fitted with a 2.0-litre TSI engine producing 200 PS, four Scirocco Cup machines raced around the ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium in Beijing. It appears the Scirocco Cup race machines will be in China again next weekend in the season finale of the Scirocco Cup China in Shanghai.

Volkswagen has recently revealed the Bio-CNG-racing version of the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, which develops 223 horsepower. The Bio-CNG is a fuel produced from renewable resources such as grass or a special type of maize as well as from refined biological waste, and the fuel tank itself is made from a composite material, so the car can easily be described as eco-friendly.