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Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Team Prepares For 2015 Global RallyCross Season

Last year, the Volkswagen Andretti rallycross team put on quite the show in the Global RallyCross Championship (GRC). Now, they’re back and ready to do it all over again for the 2015 season with drivers Scott Speed and Tanner Foust.

This year, the team will be fielding two GRC Beetles engineered specifically for the Red Bull Global RallyCross series. Making their debut during last year’s season finale, the GRC Beetles are powered by a 1.6-liter turbocharged and intercooled TSI four-cylinder engine churning out 544 horsepower mated to a six-speed sequential shift transmission and a fixed-ratio all-wheel-drive system. According to Volkswagen, the Beetle GRC can accelerate to 60 mph from a standstill in an impressively-brisk 2.1 seconds. To put that in technical terms, that’s fast. Very fast. As fast as a Formula One car, in fact. The cars will be driven by none other than (the appropriately-named) racing legends Scott Speed and Tanner Foust, who drove the vehicles last year.

After recording three victories in 2014 and finishing third overall in the drivers’ championship, 2015 will mark Speed’s second season rallycross appearance with the Volkswagen Andretti team. In years prior, Speed competed in Formula One in 2006 and 2007 and in NASCAR from 2008 to 2013.

“After racing the Beetle GRC in the season finale last year, I couldn’t be more excited to run this car for the full 2015 schedule,” said Speed. “Volkswagen and Andretti have done even more development in the offseason and the expectations are extremely high.”

Tanner Foust, decidedly last year’s Global RallyCross series fan favorite, will again drive the Number 34 Rockstar Energy Drink Beetle GRC. Also known for being one of the hosts of the United States version of the television show Top Gear, Foust won the GRC series in 2011 and 2012, and was the runner-up in 2013.

”With several races in the Beetle GRC last year, the team has built a solid foundation for the 2015 season,” said Foust. “Volkswagen and Andretti are a winning combination, and I’m sure we’ll be challenging for the championship by the time we get to Las Vegas in November.”

Hey, I'm Chris McMays, the newest intern for GM Authority and Motrolix. I've been a gearhead for as long as I can remember, and I share my passion for cars through writing on the Internet.

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