PoloDriver

And… there’s another one. The 2013 Essen Motor Show has attracted another tuned Polo R WRC Street to its halls. This time it’s the turn of long-standing Volkswagen tuner ABT. The lowest of the recently-unveiled tuned Polo R WRC Street triumvirate, the ABT car packs 287bhp (a 70bhp increase), and 18-inch DR alloy wheels. No details have been released on chassis modifications, but certainly externally, the car is the least altered from the three tuner specials. Top speed goes up to 162mph from 150, while torque rises to 309lb ft (420Nm) from 258lb ft (350Nm). The engine upgrade costs €1949. ABT will also display the Golf GTI ‘Dark Edition’ and the Audi RS5-R at the German tuning show.

[Source: WorldCarFans]

Volkswagen Group Russia produced the 700,000th vehicle at its plant in Kaluga earlier this week. The anniversary car, a silver Polo Highline was manufactured on 26 November, and heralds a further €1.2 billion in Russia from 2014-2018 by the German car maker. The anniversary Polo was donated to a rehabilitation center for disabled children in the city of Kaluga. The production milestone was attended by Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil, Prof Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, and Anatoly Artamonov, Governor of Kaluga Region. The Kaluga factory has been building Volkswagen Group vehicles for the Russian market since 2007 and currently produces the VW Polo and Tiguan, and the Škoda Fabia.

It would seem modified Polo R WRC Streets are like buses. You wait for ages for one to come along and then two arrive on the scene within two days. The latest super-hot Polo is from MTM, and will appear at the Essen Motor Show in Germany from 30 November to 8 December. Although not as extreme as the B&B car revealed earlier this week, the MTM Polo R WRC Street is still a tasty piece of kit. MTM’s car develops 315bhp – the same as the Polo R WRC rally car – up almost 100bhp over the standard model. A 380bhp version is on the cards, too, which would make it even more powerful than the 362bhp B&B car.

MTM hasn’t just concentrated on engine upgrades, though. Like B&B, a four-piston brake upgrade has been fitted to the Essen show car, along with an MTM ‘Cubsport chassis’ with KW shock absorbers. Wheels are 8J x 18” ‘Nardo’ items, wrapped in 215/35 Continental ContiSportContact 5P tyres. The MTM Polo R WRC Street reaches 62mph (100km/h) in just over four seconds (down from the standard car’s 6.4) and has a top speed of 161mph. No prices have yet been revealed for the cost of the upgrades. If you’re heading for Essen later this week and want to see the MTM Polo, head for the VdAT hall.

[Source: GermanCarScene]

It was inevitable really. As if the limited edition 217bhp Polo R WRC Street wasn’t fast enough, B&B Automobiltechnik has applied a set of mechanical upgrades to the car, which sees it become more powerful than the Polo R WRC rally car it’s been designed to promote. The tuning specialists in Siegen offer several stages of performance upgrades to the R WRC Street, but this, the ultimate stage three option (pictured) results in 362bhp and 376lb ft (510Nm) of torque, up from 258lb ft (349Nm)!

The 0-62mph time falls to 5.2 seconds from 6.4, with 124mph (200km/h) coming up in 17.1 seconds, a seven-second improvement on the standard car. Top speed is now 168mph, compared to the factory car’s 150mph. The Stage Three upgrade consists of remapped ECU software, an enlarged intercooler, and uprated oil cooler, a high-pressure fuel pump, a modified air intake, and upgraded exhaust system, with metal catalytic converter.

The B&B Polo R WRC Street also features sports springs or an adjustable coilover suspension kit, thicker anti-roll bars, a ‘big brake’ upgrade with the option of four- or six-piston calipers, as well as lightweight 8J x 18 alloy wheels with 225/35 tyres. The cost of all this power and dynacism? You too can make your rare Polo R WRC Street stand out from the other 2499 cars by spending €7,950 on top of the €33,900 price of the standard car. B&B Automobiltechnik have a history of tuning Polos, with the Mk 2 B&B Paris and B&B Carat models from the 1980s being the most remembered.

A German Polo website, vw-polo.net, reports that the facelifted Polo will appear at the Tokyo Motor Show in November, ahead of a 2014 market launch. Four years after the Polo 6R was launched, the major changes to revamped car are expected to be under the bonnet, reports the site, citing German motoring magazine Auto Motor und Sport as a reference. The smaller Volkswagen Up’s 59 and 74bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder engines are thought to make an appearance, ousting the current car’s 1.2-litre motor.

The 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre TSI engines will get boosts to 110 and 150bhp respectively, while the GTI will receive a 1.8-litre 185bhp unit. According to the magazine, the 1.2 and 1.4-litre TDI engines will be replaced by 1.4 motors of 74 and 104bhp (the same outputs as the current pair). The interior will be similar in style to the Mk 7 Golf, while the exterior will be little transformed. How much will become reality in Japan next month?

[Source: vw-polo.net]