In conjunction with Volkswagen?s announcement of the new Scirocco R sedan, the German automaker has launched the Scirocco R 24H Challenge for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The racing game debuts Sept. 15, the same day Volkswagen announces the new car at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The application, which was developed and published by Fishlabs, is free to download.

?For a car brand, racing games are obviously a perfect fit to engage with potential customers in a highly emotionally way,? said Michael Schade, CEO of Fishlabs, Hamburg, Germany.

?Now, with the new Scirocco and its outstanding driving capabilities and its progressive design it is the perfect match for a high-speed racing game appealing to a young and dynamic target group that keeps getting harder to attract through traditional media,? he said.

?The iPhone is today?s gateway to cut through the noise of other mass media and get in touch with consumers directly.?

Fishlabs specializes in 3D mobile games, specifically racing and action titles for iPhone, Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Linux, Brew and J2ME.

The Scirocco R 24H Challenge lets users speed through the green heart of Germany.

Once users are satisfied with their lap time, they can start a 24-hour race mode. In the 24-hour race mode users must demonstrate their racing skills against 10 leading vehicles.

Additional features of the game include a multiplayer mode, different car paint jobs, configurable controls via touchscreen and automatic or manual acceleration.

With the new Volkswagen game, users can find the closest dealer and arrange a test drive in the online dealer search.

The game is being targeted to young males, the same demographic as that of the car.

The application is free to download and will not monetize itself, as it was designed for branding and to drive sales of the car.

Word is being spread via a viral campaign designed by Fishlabs based on the gaming communities on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

?With the great success of VW Polo Challenge the iPhone has proved itself to be a premium multimedia platform with excellent user experience and mass-market medium reach,? Mr. Schade said. ?The game clocked over 1.8 million downloads with a five-minute average play session and four sessions per user.

?In other words, 600,000 hours of brand engagement,? he said. ?This puts it close to the performance of a primetime television spot.?