Few of us were aware that there exists a rivalry between the VW GTI and VW GLI until the company released an online virtual game called Rival Road. The Volkswagen Golf GTI and VW Jetta GLI are two vehicles that deliver excellent driving experience coupled with above average performance. Over the past few days, these two cars have featured in the “Rival Road: GTI vs. GLI” virtual online game. Enthusiasts have competed against one another in the internet connected RC track. The competition is going to end tomorrow in a live event in Washington DC.
Volkswagen has continually hit headlines. Recently, the company was in an emission scandal. Could this Rival Road thing be part of its path to redemption? To others, while the event seems genuine, it is a marketing strategy. Critics observe that the GTI is the performance VW most people know. There are the Polo, Golf and other high-performance GTI models. There is only one GLI, the Jetta. Probably, VW is trying to market the Jetta and the advantage of having a separate trunk.
Whatever the motive is, the plain truth is that they have come up with something we have not seen before. The large 1800 square-foot RC car track surrounded by mountains and loaded with Arduino controlled obstacles will have ever car enthusiasts glued to their screens tomorrow. The event will be live on Twitch. Imagine the number of people who will live stream it.
VW has a whole video on their site explaining the track and how to race in the RC track. The RC track, designed in only ten days, has nine distinct and controllable obstacles. These barriers include a turntable to spin the cars around, rumble sections, objects designed to whip cars into the air, whack-a-mole-style popup cylinders among others.
The popular professional track drivers Tanner Foust and Scott Speed will grace the event with their presence. The two track drivers will do the color commentary and later race against each other. That race will be brutal and exciting to watch considering Speed does a lot of RC racing while Faust does not.
Are you a VW enthusiast and an RC track racing fan? Live stream the event tomorrow, 5.30 pm EST, to support your favorite team; you can either support team GTI or team GLI. You can also vote on the obstacles to be raised from the track to frustrate opponents.
