Motor Show Live Unveiling For Van-Tastic Volkswagen

Volkswagen’s latest racer broke cover at The Sunday Times Motor Show Live today – but the machine in question is not a car but a racing van.

Powered by a 230 PS, 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine, the new Caddy is set to thrill race-goers around the UK for the duration of the Volkswagen Racing Cup season. Straight from its unveiling at Birmingham’s NEC it will head for Snetterton in Norfolk, venue for Sunday’s (6 June) fifth and sixth rounds of the championship.

It’s not the first Caddy to take to the tracks – the previous model made its racing debut in 2002 and has become a firm favourite with spectators.

Peter Wyhinny, the director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, will be behind the new Caddy’s wheel at Snetterton. Said Peter: ‘Since launching the original Caddy Racer we have learned a lot about adapting a van, beam axle and all, for the track and all that learning has been transferred to the All New Caddy. The result is truly amazing: it feels extremely well balanced, a refined racer and now has a competitive amount of power.

‘This project sets out to show how versatile a vehicle the new Caddy is; from class-leading payload, cubic capacity and economy in its everyday workhorse guise, to being a seriously competitive thoroughbred on the track. Watch out cars!’

The van-tastic Caddy has been converted for racing by Milton Keynes-based Volkswagen Racing UK. At its heart is a 16-valve 1968cc TDI powerplant which, with assistance from the engine tuning wizards at Superchips and a bespoke exhaust system by Milltek, is delivering 230 PS.