LADA has unveiled the first images of its concept LADA Vesta World Touring Car Championship race car which the Russian marque is set to campaign in the 2015 season.
LADA has competed in the WTCC in its current capacity as a full-season works entry since 2013, although the manufacturer first appeared as a works team in 2009 for a single season and again in 2012 when James Thompson appeared in two events.
The marque has campaigned the small Granta WTCC since 2013, using an older-sec Super 2000 car last season before building a new TC1 Granta for the current 2014 season.
2015 will again see LADA building a new car, using the newer Vesta platform for their next car. The road-going Vesta is expected to be much lighter than the Granta, which has hampered the team’s WTCC car in 2014. The Granta WTCC has been reported to have been running overweight throughout the European leg of the season.
The new LADA Vesta is noticably larger than the current Granta, which is the smallest car on the WTCC grid.
The announcement comes despite LADA sales continuing to plummet in Russia, which will see the company’s owner AvtoVaz cutting production of LADA cars in the coming three months. Consumer sentiment in the country has come under further pressure in recent months as a result of Western sanctions over the situation in Ukraine.
LADA President Bo Andersson remains fully supportive of the marques racing programme, reiterating his belief that racing in a World Championship will help to sell more road cars in the future.
“I am a great supporter of our racing activities,” said Andersson. “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!”
LADAs Chief Designer Steve Mattin explained that the concept car is actually already close to the final car which will make its first race appearance in only just after six months time.
“What we see here at Moscow Motor Show is quite close to the definitive version, as we only took little styling liberties,” explained Mattin. “Now begins the implementation phase, where we will optimize 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!”
