1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle Base Sedan 2-door 1.6l on 2040-cars

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Andretti Autosport partners with Volkswagen for Global Rallycross season

Michael Andretti and Volkswagen have both been involved in Global Rallycross for a couple of years, but not together. Andretti Motorsports Marketing organized the final round of the 2012 GRC series in Las Vegas, and there were rumors then that Andretti was going to get in. Around the same time there were news reports that Volkswagen was preparing a 600-hp Polo Mk5 to race in the SuperCar class; the photo above is racer Anton Marklund in his privateer Marklund Motorsports Polo at the 2013 X-Games round in Los Angeles.
Now it's official: Andretti Autosport will campaign the 2014 GRC season with VWs. That's all that's been said for now, Andretti being busy at the moment launching four entries for IndyCar, two for Indy Lights and two for Pro Mazda. We have a feeling we'll be seeing the MkVII Golf involved, but the cars and the driver lineup will be presented at the Chicago Auto Show on February 6.

Witness this insane 736-hp VW Golf immolate its front tires

There's torque steer and then there's what we'll from now on dub "The Boba," as in Boba Kettler. The German tuner has a way with the Volkswagen Golf, and the MkI example you see above has been touched with 736 horsepower - that's right, 96 more ponies than a new SRT Viper, all trying to get to ground through those two front wheels.
The 2.0-liter, 16-valve engine has an 8,800 rpm redline and is aided by a Garrett GTX3582R turbocharger shoving 50 psi through the internals. Other upgrades include a new ECU (natch) and a six-speed 'box among other treats. The rubber is Toyo R888s - street-legal competition tires. The result is enough smoke for three Chinese New Years when the lights go green. Indeed, the standing start isn't its forte, but it can apparently get from 62 miles per hour to 124 mph in five seconds.
Watch it go in the video below. And know that this isn't even Boba's best work; he's got a 900-hp MkII Golf that'll do 0-62 mph in 2.3 seconds.

VW agrees to halt next-gen rally car development to help others stay in WRC

Volkswagen has petitioned the FIA to hold on to the current specifications for cars in the World Rally Championship, according to Autosport.com. The move is evidently an effort to keep as many competitors in the sport as possible, despite the fact that using the current spec racers may actually hurt Volkswagen's chances at winning. The three factory teams currently competing in the WRC are at the end of a three-year homologation cycle at the end of 2013, and new cars are expected to bow next year. But developing new racers could cost as much as $4.7 million.
That price tag would put M-Sport (which fields Ford racers) out of the WRC game for 2014 and would put Citroën participation in question as well. VW has already begun work on the next iteration of its Polo R WRC, and the hatch has nabbed four wins in six rounds this season. Now it appears that car won't bow until at least 2015. The FIA has officially agreed to freeze homologation of new WRC cars until the end of next season.