Lada has revealed its new World Touring Car Championship racer for 2015 and beyond.
Rob Huff and James Thompson launched the new Vesta model at the Moscow International Motor Show on Thursday.
The car was decked out in a new yellow livery courtesy of Rosneft, who will take over from fellow Russian oil firm Lukoil as the sponsor of Lada’s WTCC effort for the next three years.
The Vesta – the road car version of which goes into production in September 2015 – will replace the Granta as Lada’s WTCC contender. Huff scored the firm’s maiden WTCC podium with the Granta as the most recent round in Argentina.
“I am a great supporter of our racing activities,” said Bo Andersson, president of Lada manufacturer AvtoVAZ.
“Today AvtoVAZ focuses on competition on the world market and it focuses on teamwork, and racing is all about competition and teamwork. If we are successful in WTCC, it will help us to sell road cars to the public.”
Chief designer Steve Mattin said: “What we see here at Moscow Motor Show is quite close to the definitive version, as we only took little styling liberties. Now begins the implementation phase, where we will optimise everything in a stage that includes wind-tunneling, development and testing.
“It’s going to be another adrenalin-fuelled process, as the start of the 2015 season is only six months away, but we are extremely confident. We completed the Vesta WTCC at the studio the very day that Rob Huff took LADA’s first WTCC podium finish in Argentina. A coincidence, but we take this as a very good sign.”
