2017 VW Ameo Cup race car unveiled, gets a 1.8L TSI engine

Volkswagen has unveiled the race cars that will be used in the upcoming 2017 VW Ameo Cup. This will be the first time that the automaker's one-make racing series will employ the Ameo compact sedan. Previous seasons have seen the Polo hatchback and the Vento sedan being used as race cars.

Similar to its production-spec sibling, the Volkswagen Ameo Cup race car has completely been developed at the company's production plant in Pune, Maharashtra. It has thus become the first VW cup race car to be developed indigenously within the country.

The Ameo Cup race car is equipped with a 1.8-litre, four-cylinder TSI petrol engine that churns out 202 BHP @ 6,100 rpm and a peak torque of 320 Nm @ 3,200 - 4,600 rpm. This is the same EA888 engine that powers the Volkswagen GTI, however it has been retuned for the track. Transmission duties are handled by a 6-speed sequential gearbox with steering-mounted paddle shifters.

Additionally, VW has updated the ECU (electronic control unit) of the race car to suit the new engine-gearbox combination. The engineers have also rearranged some components like the fire extinguisher, battery and the windshield washer tank in order to achieve ideal weight balance. The car comes with an 8-point roll cage that has been certified by the FMSCI. The Ameo Cup car weighs 1,150 kg and has a wheelbase of 2,465 mm (5 mm shorter than regular Ameo).

Braking duties are handled by 334 mm ventilated discs at the front and 232 mm discs at the rear. It also comes with racing ABS. Suspension setup includes a McPherson strut with 2-way adjustable KW dampers at the front and a torsional beam axle with 2-way adjustable KW dampers at the rear. The car rolls on 17-inch alloy wheels that have been wrapped with 200/605 profile MRF tyres.

The 2017 Volkswagen Ameo Cup is expected to commence in June this year, at the Kari Motor Speedway, near Coimbatore. This will be followed by two rounds at the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) in Chennai and one round at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in Greater Noida.