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Report: Volkswagen WRC program to lead to street-legal Polo R?

Filed under: Performance, Hatchback, Volkswagen, Rumormill

Volkswagen Polo R WRC

Volkswagen Polo R WRC – Click above for high-res image gallery

It’s been an on-again, off-again affair with rumors of a possible R version of the Volkswagen Polo. But according to the latest from the Old World, things are looking up for the prospective pocket rocket.

The change in fortunes come down, according to Autocar, to the launch of the Volkswagen Polo R WRC, the car with which the German automaker is preparing to mount its assault on the World Rally Championship. As you can see, the rally machine carries R branding, prompting the British publication to press VW board member Ulrich Hackenberg on the renewed possibility of a production Polo R hot hatch.

Hackenberg admitted such a vehicle is more likely with the launch of the WRC Polo, but that it wouldn’t arrive before 2013. As for specs, that’s all up to speculation. Autocar figures on a version of the Polo GTI’s 1.4-liter twin-charger four with over 200 horsepower, with or without the all-wheel-drive system being developed by Audi for the A1 built on the same platform. One way or another, we’ll be watching this development as it unfolds (or doesn’t).

Volkswagen WRC program to lead to street-legal Polo R? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 May 2011 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volkswagen to contest WRC with Polo R in 2013 [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports, Hatchback, Volkswagen

volkswagen polo r wrc

Volkswagen Polo R WRC – Click above for high-res image gallery

Everyone wants to go rallying these days. Mini put the world on notice when it announced it was heading back into the WRC fray, and now Volkswagen wants to join that party. No longer content to watch its Touaregs blast across the vicious routes of the Dakar Rally, VW is bringing the Polo R WRC hot hatch to the World Rally Championship.

The all-wheel-drive Polo R WRC will be powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine, which Volkswagen expects will produce around 300 horsepower. Volkswagen Motorsport has high hopes for its WRC Polo, and hopefully the team can draw on the success that VW experienced with rallying in the 1980s. In 1986, a Volkswagen GTI was the winning car in the newly formed Group A. Look for the Volkwagen Polo R WRC to try and capture some of that former glory starting with the 2013 WRC season. Hit the jump for VW’s official press release, as well as a teaser video. Hat tip to Chris!

Continue reading Volkswagen to contest WRC with Polo R in 2013 [w/video]

Volkswagen to contest WRC with Polo R in 2013 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 May 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: No Volkswagen Polo R for you!

Filed under: Performance, Hatchback, Volkswagen, Off-Road

2011 Volkswagen Polo GTI

2011 Volkswagen Polo GTI – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you thought that Audi’s adaption of the A1’s platform for all-wheel drive would open the door for an AWD version of the Volkswagen Polo as well, think again. Although the A1 and the Polo share the same platform, the latest reports indicate that Volkswagen has no plans to apply the technology for an all-wheel-drive variant of the CrossPolo or a hotter Polo R.

This platform was never intended to accommodate all-wheel drive, but Audi saw it fit to tweak things in order to accommodate a Quattro version of the A1. The potential had sparked speculation about how this could be adapted for Volkswagen use, but according to reports, VW feels that a Polo R – with AWD or without – would crowd the already limited space between the above-pictured Polo GTI and the Golf GTI. Meanwhile, the automaker says that the soft-road CrossPolo is already popular enough in front-wheel-drive form, and even with Audi already laying the groundwork, the added expense of adapting the high-riding Polo to all-wheel drive wouldn’t be worth the return.

Gallery: 2011 Volkswagen Polo GTI

[Source: Autocar]

Report: No Volkswagen Polo R for you! originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VW considering adding all-wheel drive to Audi A1, Polo?

Filed under: Hatchback, Audi, Volkswagen, Rumormill

Audi A1 live in Paris

Audi A1 TFSI – Click above for high-res image gallery

Audi surprised us all when it took the wraps off its top-of-the-line A1 TFSI hatchback packing everything but the kitchen sink…and the S1 nameplate. The reason, according to reports, was that every S model in the company’s history has featured Quattro all-wheel drive, but the PQ25 platform on which the A1 is based can’t accommodate it. At least, not yet.

The UK’s Autocar now suggests, however, that a business case is being made inside the Volkswagen Group to engineer the platform to accept the extra driveshaft. Doing so would allow for proper Quattro-driven S1, but that’s not all. In order to justify the cost, the Volkswagen Polo could get a couple of models driven on all fours, including a Polo R hot hatch to slot in above the Polo GTI and a CrossPolo soft-roader with actual traction to back up its butch styling.

Gallery: Paris 2010: 2011 Audi A1 TFSI

Gallery: 2012 Volkswagen CrossPolo

[Source: Autocar]

VW considering adding all-wheel drive to Audi A1, Polo? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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