PoloDriver

It’s been another busy year for the Volkswagen Polo. On the asphalt and gravel stages of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship, the Polo has, like 2013, 2014, and 2015, again taken on all-comers to emerge victorious: the 318bhp Polo R WRC has taken the Manufacturers’ Championship title for Volkswagen Motorsport and has also carried Frenchmen Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia to their third consecutive Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ Championship prizes. Sadly, that success is due to end this year with the announcement that Volkswagen is to quit top-level rallying.

Other Polo-based motorsport series have continued around the globe, though, with Wolfsburg’s small car taking an even larger presence in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. Volkswagen Driver magazine in the UK has also published a series of articles detailing cars in the 2015 AutoMuseum Volkswagen ’40 Years Polo’ exhibition, which were written by PoloDriver.com editor Rich Gooding. A number of Polo special edition models have also been released around the world, while 2016 is expected to be the final production year of the current fifth-generation Polo.

Here, we round up the Polo’s biggest achievements in 2016. (Bold entries are illustrated by the picture above that particular month’s list of events.)

January

– Our cars: 2015 Polo SE 1.2 TSI – report three
– Volkswagen RX Sweden rallycross team unveiled
– Volkswagen launches ‘Race Anywhere’ Polo R WRC smartphone rally game app
– Polo R WRC upgraded and improved ahead of 2016 FIA World Rally Championship
– Volkswagen Motorsport takes victory at Rally Monte-Carlo
– Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

February
– Polo E80 prototype and Öko-Polo eco models profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Volkswagen India refreshes Polo and Vento ranges; new sub-compact Ameo launched
– Polo GTI revealed for Indian market
– Sébastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia and Volkswagen win Rally Sweden for the third time
– Polo Beats special edition announced ahead of 2016 Geneva motor show
– Polo is the eighth best-selling car in the UK.

March
– 1970s early Polos and Audi 50s profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Future Polo-based T-Cross Breeze SUV concept revealed at 2016 Geneva motor show
– Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila celebrate Rally Mexico win
– Volkswagen South Africa launches Polo Vivo Xpress van and Polo Vivo GTS
– Our cars: 2015 Polo GTI – report one
– Polo is the sixth best-selling car in the UK.

April

– 1982 Polo bb Buchmann profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Volkswagen India recalls Vento 1.5 TDIs due to ‘inconsistent emission issues’
– 2016 Volkswagen RX Sweden Polo RX rallycross Supercar revealed
– 2017 Volkswagen Polo R WRC technology announced
– Sixth for Johan Kristoffersson and Volkswagen RX Sweden at World RX of Portugal
– Polo R WRCs finish in second and third places at Rally Argentina
– Polo is the sixth best-selling car in the UK.

May
– 1983 Polo Sprint prototype profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Polo RXs finish seventh and 15th at World RX of Hockenheim
– Special edition Polo Beats hits the UK from £13,910
– Volkswagen RX Sweden Polos in World RX of Belgium final
– Rally Portugal podiums for Andreas Mikkelsen and Sébastien Ogier
– Polo GT Sedan 1.4 TSI launched in Russia
– Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

June

– 1985 Polo G40 ‘World Record’ endurance car profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Polo RXs complete World RX of Great Britain in eighth and 11th places
– New Polo Select and Vento Celeste special editions for India
– Double podium and an extended championship lead for Volkswagen at Rally Italy
– Polo RXs finish in seventh and 15th places at World RX of Norway
– Wimmer Rennsporttechnik announce 417bhp Polo R WRC tuning kit
– Polo is the eighth best-selling car in the UK.

July

– Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger take Polo R WRC to victory at Rally Poland
– Polo scoops Auto Express New Car Awards 2016 ‘small car’ prize
– Fourth and fifth place finishes for Polo RXs at World RX of Sweden
– Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

August

– Five generations of sports Polos profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Second place for Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila at Rally Finland
– Goodridge Performance launches 2014-onwards Polo GTI 1.8 TSI ‘Phantom’ brake line kit
– PoloDriver.com profiles Belgian-only special edition Polo RX from 1978
– Kristoffersson scores Volkswagen RX Sweden podium at World RX of Canada
– Volkswagen Group announces roll-out particulate filters for petrol-engined cars
– Polo 1.2-litre TDI included in Volkswagen EA189 engine recall
– Sixth-generation Volkswagen Polo spotted testing; ‘hybrid’ platform car to be sold in India
– Polo R WRC takes on Kamaz 4326 Dakar Rally truck in Ouninpohja, Finland
– Cobra Sport announces performance exhaust system for 2014-onwards Polo GTI 1.8 TSI
– Ogier and Volkswagen Motorsport win Rally Germany
– Polo is the sixth best-selling car in the UK.

September
– 1986 Volkswagen Motorsport Polo GT G40 profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Kristoffersson scores emphatic first team victory at World RX of France
– Polo Vivo expanded production plans announced with building of Kenyan factory
– Pete Hedström pilots Polo RX at World RX of Spain and World RX of Latvia
– Remus stainless steel exhaust upgrade for 2014-onwards Polo GTI 1.8 TSI announced
– Kristoffersson finishes sixth at World RX of Spain
– Polo is the sixth best-selling car in the UK.

October
– 1986 Wintershall VW Polo G40 Cup profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Ogier and Volkswagen Motorsport victorious at Rally France
– PoloDriver.com tests the Polo R-Line 1.0 TSI
– Kristoffersson claims second place at World RX of Latvia
– Special edition Polo Vivo Storm released in South Africa
– Polo Beats special edition launched by Volkswagen South Africa
– A solid sixth for Kristoffersson at World RX of Germany
– Ogier and Ingrassia claim fourth WRC drivers’ championship title at Rally Spain
– Volkswagen claims its twelfth WRC title in four years at Rally Great Britain
– Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

November
– Second-generation Polos profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Volkswagen announces it is to exit the World Rally Championship
– ‘Limited edition’ Polo GTI launched in India for Rs 25.99 lakh
– Polo Beats special edition arrives in Ireland
– Polo Allstar and Vento Preferred special editions launched by Volkswagen India
– Volkswagen bids farewell to Polo R WRC with Rally Australia win
– Polo is the eighth best-selling car in the UK.

December
– Late-generation Polos profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Polo R WRC is named as Autosport magazine’s 2016 Rally Car of the Year
– Sébastien Ogier is named as Autosport magazine’s 2016 Rally Driver of the Year
– Polo GTI named Overdrive magazine’s Performance Car of the Year
– Ameo, Polo and Vento Crest Collection special edition models launched
– PoloDriver.com compares the SEAT Ibiza Cupra and Volkswagen Polo GTI
– Value-driven Polo Match Edition launched in the UK
– Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK for the month and the year overall
– Over 704,062 Polos are registered worldwide during 2016, making it the eighth best-selling car in the world.

Once again, we would like to thank the loyal readers and followers who have helped make the year another enjoyable one for PoloDriver.com, and hope that you’ll enjoy the developments and stories coming to the website in 2017.

[Click on the ‘Polo 2009-’, ‘WRC’ and ‘Motorsport’ tags in the category drop-down list in the right-hand sidebar of the website to see all entries pertaining to the revised fifth-generation Polo, Polo R WRC, and Polo motorsport activity respectively. Choose other category or month sections for relevant entries.]

A consistent pace and a consistent season rewarded Volkswagen RX Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson a second place in the last round of the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the World RX of Argentina. The final and twelfth event of the season took place at the Autodromo Rosario circuit from 25-27 November, and that consistency also netted Kristoffersson second place in the Drivers’ Championship, just 32 points behind champion Mattias Ekström of Audi team EKS.

A brilliant drive
A brilliant drive in both the semi-final and final races in Argentina helped Kristoffersson improve on his third place in the 2015 Drivers’ Championship, and was ample reward for the young Polo RX Supercar racer, who had battled hard throughout the 2016 season. The Swede was delighted with his runner-up position, partly gained thanks to not taking risks: ‘After the semi-finals I knew I had to be first or second in the final to be second in the championship. The start went well, and we managed to avoid any contact.

‘I have to admit I was driving a little bit like a grandma, avoiding punctures and no drifting or anything, but it’s such a great feeling to be second in the race and the Championship. At the beginning of the weekend it didn’t feel like we were where we wanted to be, but everyone worked really hard and we finished one place better than last season in the points. I have to say it’s very tight, for there to be only one point between second and fourth in the championship after 12 events is just amazing,’ he continued.

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Argentina: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Argentina: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Argentina: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Argentina: Kristoffersson

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Argentina: Kristoffersson

Banished bad luck
Qualification in the semi-final and seventh overall for second Volkswagen RX Sweden driver Anton Marklund helped the team secure third overall in the 2016 Teams’ Championship standings. Despite challenging weather conditions, Marklund banished the bad luck which has affected him and his 600bhp Polo this year and proved that by securing a place the semi-final, he has the pace to challenge for podium results and pick up valuable team points.

‘The track was tough in Rosario and it was hard for everyone to have three qualifying races on Sunday morning, but after some small issues we got the car perfectly in shape for Q4 and a good result put me into the semi-finals,’ said the ex-2012 FIA European Rallycross Championship Touringcar winner.

‘Unfortunately I got crashed into in the first corner and was never able to recover for a top-three finish to make it into the final. The pace was definitely there – I was catching Robin Larsson – but we just ran out of laps. It’s great that Johan was able to finish second for himself and we both managed to finish third in the Teams’ Championship to take the bronze medal back to Sweden.’

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Argentina: Marklund

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Argentina: Marklund

2016 Volkswagen Polo RX, World RX of Argentina: Marklund

‘We achieved it’
Team Principal Michael Schneider was delighted for the whole Volkswagen RX Sweden team that the weekend’s target had been reached. ‘Johan and Anton both performed so well this weekend. The way Johan drove in both the semi-finals and final was fantastic.

‘We had the chance to be second in the Drivers’ Championship and third in the Teams’ Championship coming here and we achieved it. I have to thank the team, sponsors, partners and team owner Jan Marklund. Everyone has worked so hard all season long and everyone deserves this,’ he exclaimed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQUK2jdFJUs

2016 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Mattias Ekström, Audi S1: 272
2 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo: 240
3 Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Focus RS: 239
4 Petter Solberg, Citroën DS3: 239
5 Sébastien Loeb, Peugeot 208: 209

2016 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 EKS: 422
2 Team Peugeot Hansen: 387
3 Volkswagen RX Sweden: 316
4 Hoonigan Racing Division: 302
5 World RX Team Austria: 226

[Images: FIAWorldRallycross.com / Volkswagen RX Sweden]

Volkswagen Motorsport waved goodbye to four years of World Rally Championship domination with a final one-two victory at Rally Australia, the final round of the 2016 series. Volkswagen young-guns Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger lifted the trophy in Coffs Harbour, with four-time and 2016 World Champions* Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia in second place. The end-of-era win was the 43rd victory for the German team from Hannover which also tops the Manufacturers’ Championship* for 2016.

Exciting in-house battle
The Norwegians really did deserve the prize, as the pair led for over 94 per cent of the event’s 283.36kms of dusty and loose gravel stages. An exciting and closely-fought in-house battle with Ogier and Ingrassia proved a fitting send off for the record-breaking 318bhp four-wheel drive Polo R WRC, and ensured the car finished its service in the top-flight motorsport series on a high. Both Polo R WRC crews had unfavourable starting positions, too, given the ‘sweeping’ of the loose surface which was needed to clear a path through it.

Ogier and Ingrassia came top of the Shakedown pile, with their Norwegian team-mates close behind them. Mikkelsen and Jæger won five of the opening day’s eleven special stages to take an early lead, and finished in the top three on every stage to take a lead of 15.4 seconds. Ogier and Ingrassia produced a performance worthy of their world champion status to win four special stages, ending day one in second place overall.

Mikkelsen went on only to lose his lead once during the whole rally, when a bizarre incident almost cost him the event. His Polo R WRC’s clutch pedal bent and held down his brake pedal after the floor of his car was dented. A water bottle also wedged itself in the pedal area of his car, but the Norwegian solved these ‘interesting’ setbacks and claimed the third of his career wins and his first since Rally Poland back in July.

As magnificent as it was, Mikkelsen and Jæger’s final performance in the Polo R WRC sadly wasn’t enough to achieve second place in the 2016 Drivers’ Championship. Mikkelsen’s friend and rival Thierry Neuville finished the Australian event in third place, leap-frogging the second-placed Norwegian in the overall standings, finishing runner-up behind world champion Ogier. In the end, Neuville’s jump over his friend was narrow – just six points separated him and Mikkelsen – but for a driver who started his international WRC career at Volkswagen, it didn’t seem to matter.

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Australia: Mikkelsen/Jæger

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Australia: Mikkelsen/Jæger

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Australia: Mikkelsen/Jæger

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Australia: Mikkelsen/Jæger

2016 Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Rally Australia: Mikkelsen/Jæger

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After the 2016 running of Rally Australia, the Polo R WRC will be no more. PoloDriver.com editor Rich Gooding celebrates the Polo R WRC’s rallying success and analyses what Volkswagen’s withdrawal from the World Rally Championship means for the series in 2017, and what motorsport arena the company could have success in next

Even though Volkswagen’s exit from the World Rally Championship (WRC) from 2016 was officially confirmed last Wednesday, the shock announcement is still sinking in. Four-wheel drive, 318bhp rallying Polos have been part of my life for the past five years, since VW’s top-flight participation in one of the most exciting areas of motorsport was announced in Sardinia. It was then that the Polo R WRC concept car was also unveiled, signalling Volkswagen’s intent and desire to win.

Four-year dominance
And win it has. Massively so. It describes its four-year dominance of the sport as ‘four historically successful years’, and with twelve titles (Drivers’, Co-drivers’, and Manufacturers’ Championships) to its name since 2013, that’s quite a fitting description. Of the 51 international gravel and asphalt rallies the Polo R WRC had competed in, it took an amazing 42 wins with 621 best times from over 900 special stages. It remains the most successful car ever in the World Rally Championship.

Which makes the blow that there will not be a four-wheel drive super-Polo howling though the forests, sliding on the mud and dust-lined gravel tracks, and skimming across asphalt roads all the harder to take. It’s made all the regretful due to the fact that – at last – there may have been some road car correlation, too: the 2017 rally Polo was due to be badged ‘GTI’ or at least have the iconic three letters in its name.

Bulked-up looks, faster pace
With Audi’s withdrawal from the World Endurance Championship (WEC) racing series, the first seeds were planted for the cancellation of the WRC programme. But I for one, refused to believe it. The new Polo R WRC developed for 2017’s more exciting WRC regulations was far down the development road, even having been tested ahead of the 2016 Wales Rally GB just last month. Wrapped in its distinctive ‘zebra’ camouflage, its bulked-up looks, larger spoilers and faster pace promised so, so much.

Criminally, that car will now (or at least for the foreseeable future) never be seen and never turn a wheel in anger in public. At least two prototypes had been built. I would guess that they are now either due to be destroyed, or, I hope, tucked away for posterity. Decades later they may be re-discovered as a ‘what might have been’ car, just as has been the case with Audi’s Group S prototype this year. Rumour has it that nine complete 2017-specification machines were in the pipeline for next year.

It’s not known what will happen to the ‘series’ Polo R WRCs, too, although as they have been seen balletically dancing through global rally stages in front of fans, I’m more confident in their hideaway and keepsake fate being safe. Sources state that around 34 cars have been built, along with three ‘mock-ups’ for motor show appearances: that’s a lot of metal and composite to destroy.

> Read More

In a shock move, Volkswagen has ‘reliagned’ its motorsport programme and pulled out of all future commitment to the World Rally Championship (WRC). Rumours started to circulate at the start of the week, ahead of a company board meeting yesterday. And today came the official announcement of the news we’d been dreading. After the final round of the 2016 season – Rally Australia – later this month, the Polo R WRC is no more.

‘Four historically successful years’
The company states that, ‘From 2017, Volkswagen will focus on new technologies and customer sport’, and that its involvement with top-level rallying will come to an end after ‘four historically successful years’. And what a ‘historical successful’ quartet of years it was: Volkswagen Motorsport and the Polo R WRC won twelve titles (Drivers’, Co-drivers’, and Manufacturers’ Championships) from 2013 to 2016, and have dominated the sport since the super-Polo first turned a wheel in anger at the 2013 Monte-Carlo Rally.

Talk about leaving on a high, though. The 318bhp four-wheel drive version of the German supermini competed in 51 international gravel and asphalt rallies and had an amazing 42 wins with 621 best times from over 900 special stages – a truly impressive feat making it the most successful car ever in the World Rally Championship. Just last weekend Volkswagen Motorsport scooped its fourth manufacturers’ title* at the 2016 running of Wales Rally GB.

New WRC technical regulations
Why a shock move? The motorsport outfit from Hannover had been quite far down the development road of the 2017 Polo R WRC, which would have been more powerful and more wildly-styled than the current car due to new technical regulations in the championship which come into force next year. Rumour has it that car will now be mothballed or crushed – we hope some examples of both it and the 2013 to 2016 machine are kept for historical purposes.

In front of 200 Volkswagen Motorsport employees in Hannover, Frank Welsch, Member of the Board of Management responsible for Technical Development said: ‘The Volkswagen brand is facing enormous challenges. With the upcoming expansion in electrification of our vehicle range we must focus all our efforts on important future technologies. We far exceeded our sporting goals in the WRC, now we are realigning Volkswagen Motorsport and moving the vehicle technology of the future more starkly into focus’. All employees’ jobs are guaranteed to be safe.

‘R5’-specification Polo in 2018
However, while the Polo R WRC is a sad and unfortunate casualty of today’s announcement, there is hope. Volkswagen Motorsport will refocus on customer racing, primarily with the Golf GTI TCR touring car racer and the Global Rallycross Championship Beetle. But, a new, less powerful, customer-focused rallying Polo is on the cards, too. The ‘R5’-specification Polo will be available for teams to buy in 2018 and will be based on the new sixth-generation car expected to be launched next year. It is said that the new car will benefit from the experience gained by the Polo R WRC’s dominance.

Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets commented: ‘Of course, we regret the departure from the WRC very much – as this was the most successful chapter in the Volkswagen brand’s motorsport history. The team has done great things. At the same time, our vision is firmly ahead, because we are aware of the challenges facing the entire company. We want our realignment to contribute to the success of the Volkswagen brand. From now on, the focus is on upcoming technologies in motorsport and on our customer sports range, where we will position ourselves more broadly and attractively.’

*Subject to ratification of the results by the FIA.