PoloDriver

Here’s the latest UK TV commercial for the Polo range. First aired last month, and focusing on how competitively priced and well-specced the car is against its rivals (therefore how good value it is), the 30-second spot uses classic, subtle humour to good effect. Part of the ‘Volkswagen value’ promotion, check out Volkswagen’s cool value-inspired website here.

Don’t be fooled by the stories this week about the possibility of a 1.6-litre turbocharged 210bhp Polo R. The UK’s Autocar and Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport have both been sources of speculative ‘are they, aren’t they’ stories this week regarding a possible hardcore Polo. And that’s just they are: speculation. We’ve been onto the Volkswagen UK press office today, and they’ve told us: ‘The news of a Polo R is speculation – we have no plans to build an R model of the Polo.’ So it’s official: a Polo R still isn’t on the cards.

The R’s possible arrival has been one of the most hotly-debated and popular Polo forum and internet topics for months. We doubted that the R was coming at all – the GTI is due to hit the UK in August, and with prices starting at £18,275 for the three-door 178bhp car, an expensive R version would surely be a very niche-market product. Saying that, with reports stating that the allocation for the £30,300 Golf R has sold out, there is obviously a market for super-hot über-hatches.

Edit, 22 May 2010: senior officials at Volkswagen in Germany have now also confirmed that there will be no Polo R, partly in order to protect the Audi S1, which will have the same 1.4-litre, 178bhp TSI engine as the 2010 Polo GTI.

Are you disappointed that Volkswagen have said ‘no’ to building a Polo R? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.

US website Motor Authority has recently hinted that the Polo is still to appear Stateside, just a little later than Volkswagen’s initial plans. Now slightly more involved, the company’s plans for the federal Polo are said to include the new sedan (saloon, new rendering above) and a stretched iteration of the hatchback model on sale in Europe; something between a mini-van and a traditional hatch.

Production is rumoured to start in 2011 at VW’s Puebla plant in Mexico, and the US Polo will be aimed at competitors such as the Ford Fiesta and Honda Jazz/Fit. A sedan version of the car developed for the Indian and Asian market is already slated to go on sale later this year. Head across to Motor Authority to read more.

[Image: Motor Authority]

Latest reports from India suggest that the new Polo Sedan could take the name of VW’s Series 3 Golf-based saloon, the Vento. Autocar India states that as the name means ‘wind’ in both Italian and Portugese, the new Polo notchback would follow the longstanding Volkswagen tradition of calling its cars after prominent winds. The current issue of the magazine also hints that the car will go on sale in July, and that the company is aiming for 25,000 units to be sold each year.

The wheelbase has reportedly been extended by 50mm to allow for better legroom, while the platform and bodywork are similar to the Polo hatchback as far as the B-pillar. The notchback rear body panels – which house a massive 500-litre boot – are said to be well-integrated with the rest of the car, and if Autocar India’s latest mock-up photos are based on fact, then the new Vento could be the best-looking Polo three-box since the original Derby of 1977. Engines are expected to be 104bhp 1.6-litre petrol and TDI units. The common-rail TDI unit could then also be dropped into the Indian-market Polo hatchback to mirror models in Europe, the magazine states.

The latest phase of the Polo’s motorsport career is due to start in India on 30 May 2010, when the inaugural round of the Volkswagen Polo Cup India takes to the track. Running as part of the 2010 JK Tyres National Racing Championship, the series has attracted 1,100 entries for the 20 starting places on the grid. These will be filled by a four-tier selection process, which started with initial administrative checks, reducing the number of 16 to 24 year-old drivers to 713, which, after interviews, were slimmed down further to 450. Winning drivers will each punt a 129bhp 1.6-litre TDI Polo Cup car around circuits in Chennai and Coimbatore. The debut of the series will take place on a street circuit around Pune, where the Indian-market Polo is built.

Sanjay Sharma, head of motorsport at JK Tyres, said that to discover the rising stars, the remaining young drivers will undergo further tests in Polo simulators flown in from Germany. ‘The simulator runs are for absolute rookies with no racing experience. They will then graduate to four-stroke go-karts and then to two-stroke where they will be joined by drivers with some racing background. We will then shortlist 40 candidates who will take part in the final evaluation process in Coimbatore on May 15 and 16 when they actually get to drive the Polo Cup car. While JK Tyres will provide some support, the evaluation will be done by experts appointed by Volkswagen,’ Sharma informed the Indo Asian News Service.

The Volkswagen Polo Cup India is the newest championship run by VW, which runs similar series in Europe, Japan and South Africa. The entry fee for the six-round championship is Rs 240,000 which covers the cost of fireproof racing overalls, a helmet, HANS (Head And Neck Support system) and service back-up as well as hospitality during race weekends. The series champion will be decided on cumulative points that range from 60 to two for each of the six rounds. The championship will be run in a controlled environment that disallows any set-up changes or modifications to the car with the exception of a three-way adjustable front stabiliser and tyre pressures.

[Source: Indo Asian News Service]