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Wednesday 16 January sees Volkswagen Motorsport’s development of the Polo R WRC take on a much more critical role – the 300bhp, four-wheel drive rally weapon finally has its competitive debut on the ‘mother of all rallies’, the Rallye Monte Carlo. With over 20,000km of testing under their belts the engineers and drivers can develop the car no more – we’ll finally see what it’s made of. First Volkswagen Motorsport signings Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia will be in car number 8, while Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila will be in car number 7.

‘I cannot wait to finally getting going. The entire team at Volkswagen is looking forward to the WRC debut of the Polo WRC,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. ‘World Championship rallies in the top WRC class are new territory for the team. Furthermore, the Polo R WRC has been developed from scratch and features a lot of innovative ideas. The “Monte” will give us our first indication of how we compare with the opposition – our rivals already have two years’ experience of the regulations that came into force in 2011. Our goal for the Rallye Monte Carlo is to gain as much experience as possible and also to finish with both cars.’

The Rallye Monte Carlo was first held in 1911 and has legendary status. Run through the narrow-tracked mountain roads in the French Maritime Alps to the north of the prinicipality of Monaco, drivers are often faced with black ice and snow on the many mountain passes they are required to negotiate. This makes it essential to select the right tyre – and makes the ‘Monte’ one of the most difficult and complex rallies on the World Championship calendar. We’ll be reporting on the event next week, so be sure to come back and read how the first event and the beginning of a new chapter in the Polo’s motorsport career unfolds.

Similarly to 2011, the most exciting Polo news of 2012 was the unveiling of the Polo R WRC in final competition trim. Other motorsport series also continued around the world, with the Polo competing as both a rally and track car. As far as the road car was concerned, it still continued to win awards and post strong sales figures in the UK and further afield. A number of special editions were launched in various markets, while the 218bhp Polo R WRC ‘Street’ – the most powerful production and the most expensive Polo ever – was announced. (Bold entries are illustrated by the picture above that particular month.)

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The recently-unveiled Volkswagen Polo R WRC rally car made an appearance at the 2012 Race of Champions (ROC) event in Bangkok yesterday, as one of its drivers, Sébastien Ogier, failed in his bid to keep the ROC crown which he won in 2011. Ogier and the Polo once again wowed the crowd, ahead of the car’s competition debut next month. ‘Sébastien Ogier made a good impression competing against the great motorsport drivers. The appearance of the Polo R WRC was also a success. The winding stadium circuit at the Race of Champions is ideal for World Rally Championship cars. It was great fun to watch,’ said Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director.

The format at the Race of Champions sees the ‘best of the best’ determined by a round of knock-out races in identical cars – including the Cup Scirocco used in the Volkswagen one-make cup in China. Legendary F1 champions Sebastien Vettel and Michael Schumacher (Team Germany) took the team spoils in Thailand, with Ogier and F1 driver Roman Grosjean (Team France) coming in second. The French F1 driver had a good weekend, taking the individual driver prize, while Ogier had to bow out to Danish Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen in the quarterfinals.

Just four days after its official unveil in Casino Square, Monaco, the new Red Bull-liveried Polo R WRC has been caught on camera undergoing an asphalt testing session on a road course at an undisclosed location. Sounding for all the world like a very big swarm of very loud wasps and looking aggressively mean with its new squared-off wheel arches and scoops, Sébastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala, their crews and the Volkswagen Motorsport team have 34 days to get the car ready for its competitive debut on the starting ramp of the 2013 Rally Monte Carlo which runs from 15-20 January. In related news, ex-WRC champion Marcus Grönholm has been reported as driver for the Polo R WRC test programme in Sweden.

[Video source: oneeightturbo.com]

In addition to the unveiling of the Polo R WRC rally car in Monaco on Saturday evening, Volkswagen also pulled the covers off its road-going counterpart, the Polo R WRC ‘Street’ (VW also confusingly refers to the full-fat rally car as Polo R WRC, so we’re adding the ‘Street’ suffix). A few hours before the competition car announced the arrival of the company’s 2013 World Rally Championship, the most powerful production Polo ever was launched in the Monte Carlo Sporting Club.

Looking much the same as the Polo R WRC Street Edition concept car seen at the Wörthersee GTI Festival back in May, the production R WRC Street loses the bold blue flashes that adorned its sides (keeping its Volkswagen Motorsport-inspired bonnet and sill graphics), but has otherwise made the transition to from idea to reality unscathed.

Available as a three-door and in white only, the Polo R WRC ‘Street’ has a tuned 2.0-litre TSI engine borrowed from the Mk 6 Golf GTI, developing 217bhp and 258lb ft of torque, enough to get the 1324kg car to 62mph from rest in 6.4 seconds, and onto a top speed of 151mph. That’s 39bhp and 74lb ft more than the high-performance Polo GTI.

Powering the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox with short shifts, the Polo R WRC ‘Street’ transfers its power to the road via 18-inch ‘Cagliari’ multi-spoke alloy wheels with 215/35 R18 tyres. Volkswagen describes the car’s underpinnings as a ‘sports chassis’. Let’s hope so!

WRC-style front and rear bumpers and spoilers dominate the Polo R WRC ‘Street’’s appearance, along with blue brake calipers, which up front house 16-inch discs. Bi-xenon headlamps add more visual aggression, while inside, WRC-branded sports seats, multifunction steering wheel, black roof lining, racing pedals, cruise control, light and rain sensors, winter package, climate control, alarm and radio with USB/MP3 connectivity all feature. Just what you need when negotiating the urban jungle. Only 2500 units worldwide will be sold, partly to homologate the competition vehicle.

The price for all this kit and exclusivity? €33,900 or £27,258 to us UK buyers at current exchange rates. However, all Polo R WRC ‘Street’s will be left-hand drive, so it won’t be officially sold in the UK. But, we hear that Volkswagen UK is assessing a potential market for the car. Order books officially open on 11 December 2012 – the first customer cars will be delivered in September 2013.