The Volkswagen Beetle Supercar that won the first two Americas Rallycross (ARX) Championship titles has been retired from competition.
Scott Speed and Tanner Foust drove the popular 560-PS all-wheel-drive Beetle to ARX glory in 2018 and 2019. In the first year of ARX (2018), the Beetle was unbeaten, with Speed and Foust both taking a pair of wins. In 2019, Foust had to fight hard for the title against Subaru Motorsports USA in the Andretti Rallycross run Beetle, but came out on top.
Originally developed by Volkswagen Motorsport, using technology transferred from the title-winning Volkswagen Polo R WRC rally car, the Beetle Supercar was first raced in US rallycross in 2015 and won the drivers’ title in every year it competed. It leaves the sport in the US on a high with Foust’s 2019 ARX victory.
“This is a fantastic end to the Rallycross era with the Volkswagen Beetle,” said Scott Keogh, CEO Volkswagen Group of America. “We are delighted that Tanner won the title for Volkswagen and Andretti Rallycross. Every employee will share this joy with us. The Beetle has been a magnificent ambassador for the sport and our brand.”
The Beetle was raced by Foust and Cabot Bigham through 2019 with support from Volkswagen R GmbH. “We work closely with Volkswagen Motorsport. It is no coincidence that the letter R in the name of our company stands for Racing. The Beetle R’s victories have helped raise the awareness and strengthen the image of the R brand in the USA,” said Jost Capito, Director of Volkswagen R GmbH, explaining the involvement of Volkswagen’s performance brand in ARX.
In it’s final season, scored a 1-2 finish with Foust and Bigham in the ARX of GP3R in Canada in August, and finished it’s career at the Cooper Tires ARX of Mid-Ohio finale. In a total of 45 starts, the Beetle won 29 events. “Adapting such a loveable car as the Beetle for the contact sport that is Rallycross was by no means an everyday task for us,” said Sven Smeets, Volkswagen Motorsport Director. “With four-wheel drive and 560 PS under the bonnet, the Beetle raced its way into the history books of US motorsport. Congratulations to the Volkswagen Andretti Motorsport team, which was virtually unbeatable with the Beetle for five years.”
