PoloDriver

Polos do make it to the US after all! At least they do when it comes to testing of new model prototypes. While the Ford Fiesta gained a refreshing last year, the Polo’s rumoured facelift has been a long time coming. First launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 2009, the current fifth-generation Polo 6R has been on sale for over four years with no major changes. These pictures show something we’ve expected for a while – that changes are indeed afoot.

Undergoing hot weather testing in Death Valley, Eastern California, these test prototypes have undisguised rears suggesting that either no changes will be made to the Polo’s back end, or that if there are, they are yet to be grafted on. We would think that Golf 7-like rear lights would update the Polo’s rear view, and one of these cars is badge BlueGT, even though it’s running on GTI wheels. The front does show some disguise, though, suggesting new headlamps, grille and bumper. Renderings by Filipe Augustus show how these treatments may look.

As for engines, the current range of units are probably already as technologically advanced as they can be (with the exception of the lower 1.2-litre three-cylinder powerplants), but a newly-developed three-pot TSI lump similar to that of the Up city car could be slotted under the Polo’s nose. It is expected to develop between 60 and 90bhp, therefore replacing the 1.2-litre versions at a stroke. We expect the facelifted Polo 6R to be enjoy a world premiere at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland – an almost unheard of 5 years after its predecessor.

[Images: SB-Medien and Filipe Augustus]
[Sources: worldcarfans.com, autoevolution.com and noticiasautomotivas.com]

He’s done it again. Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia took victory at the Rally Australia over the weekend. The Frenchmen scored maximum points, won 19 Special Stages, and came within in reach of the World Championship title. The sixth rally win of the season wasn’t without incident though; two of the pair’s competitors had punctures in the last 15km of the Power Stage, preventing the duo from claiming the championship title. One point away from taking the 2013 crown, Ogier and Ingrassia head into the next round, Rally France, 83 points ahead of their nearest rival, Belgian Thierry Neuville.

Impressively, given their supersonic pace at other rounds this year, Ogier and Ingrassia put in their best performance of the season so far in Australia, with only three best Special Stage times denied them. ‘Of course I’m pleased to have won here in Australia, but it’s disappointing to be on course to win the World Championship title and then lose it in the last kilometre. Apart from that, it was a fantastic rally for us. We won 19 of the 22 Special Stages and collected three points in the Power Stage, too. The Polo R WRC worked perfectly throughout the weekend, and the VW Motorsport team did a great job,’ said an elated Ogier.

Cars and drivers faced wide-ranging conditions in the southern hemisphere, with technical and narrow winding sections marking day one, while day two’s stages passed through open countryside. Day three was made up of fast sections through the rainforest. In Polo R WRC #8, Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila notched up important points for Volkswagen in the Manufacturers’ Championship by coming fourth, while Andreas Mikkelsen and replacement co-driver Paul Nagle finished sixth overall, after leading the event at the end of day one. Several small mistakes meant that the duo fell behind on day two, though, before they fought their way back in the overall standings on day three. On the final day Mikkelsen and Nagle cleverly defended their position.

‘We were aiming to collect as many points as possible for the Manufacturers’ Championship, and we succeeded. However, things didn’t go quite as smoothly as we would have liked – the car span and we had a puncture during the final stage. But all that matters ultimately is the result, and it was a good one for Volkswagen Motorsport. On another positive note, I found my Polo R WRC’s perfect set-up for fast gravel rallies in Australia, which will come in very handy for other rallies,’ enthused Latvala.

‘The Rally Australia became really dramatic in the last few kilometres. From the point of view of the Manufacturers’ Championship, everything that happened in the Power Stage was good for Volkswagen. Unfortunately, it also meant that Sébastien Ogier was unable to clinch the title early. He did a fantastic job, won more convincingly than at any other event this season, and did everything right. He would’ve deserved to go away as World Rally Champion today, but the decider will have to wait. The battle for the WRC Manufacturers’ Championship will enter its next phase in France. Thanks to Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen, we’re in a better position than we were before the Rally Australia. We’re really happy – even though the icing on the cake is missing,’ explained Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director.

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP, AUSTRALIA: FINAL RESULTS

1 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen: 3h 19m 55.0s

2 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Ford: +1m 32.1s

3 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN/FIN), Citroën: +2m 02.1s

4 Jari-Matti Latvala/Miika Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen: +2m 57.4s

5 Mäds Østberg/Jonas Andersson (N/S), Ford: +3m 17.2s

2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,


DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS


1 Sébastien Ogier, 212

2 Thierry Neuville, 129

3 Jari-Matti Latvala, 110

4 Mikko Hirvonen, 103
5 Dani Sordo, 96


2013 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP,

MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Volkswagen Motorsport, 299

2 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT, 251
3 Qatar WRT, 145

4 Qatar M-Sport WRT, 142

5 Jipocar Czech National Team, 51

Volkswagen India has today launched the latest Polo variant, the GT TDI. Mooted for some time, the five-door hatchback packs the same 1.6-litre TDI engine as its saloon sister, the Vento. With 250Nm/184lb ft of torque and 104bhp, the Polo GT TDI is the most powerful diesel hatchback in its market segment. Volkswagen India says that it has been ‘engineered to provide unmatched performance combined with excellent fuel economy.

The Polo GT TDI is available with the same equipment and trim as the 104bhp 1.2-litre GT TSI. Highlights include: 15-inch ‘Estrada’ alloy wheels; ‘GT’ chrome grille and rear badges; leather-wrapped steering wheel (multifunction), gear knob and handbrake lever handle; ‘Climatronic’ automatic air conditioning; and RCD 320 music system with USB, aux-in, SD Card, Bluetooth and four speakers. It comes in a choice of three colours, which incidentally, are the same as the Mk 1 Golf GTI: Flash Red, Candy White, and Deep Black. Prices start at Rs 8.08 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Commenting on the launch of the New Polo GT TDI, Arvind Saxena, Managing Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt Ltd said: ‘We are committed to bringing in the latest and the most efficient vehicle technologies to the Indian market. The New Polo GT TDI has been created to cater to the requirements of Volkswagen’s discerning customers, who want the best possible mix of strong power delivery, outstanding driving dynamics as well as class-leading fuel efficiency.’

It’s the latest in a line of Polo models to be launched in India. The Cross Polo (note the space in-between the two words) is also now available to Indian buyers, priced at RS 7.75 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Powered by a 1.2-litre 74bhp TDI engine driving the front wheels, the Cross Polo looks identical to the model sold in mainland Europe. Launched on 23 August, the Cross Polo gets off-road styling cues including 15-inch alloy wheels, plastic lower body cladding, unique bumpers, and silver roof rails and door mirrors.

Engen Volkswagen Cup championship leader Kosie Weyers drove to a double victory at the Zwartkops round of the one-make series on 31 August. Weyers claimed two race wins on the day, the third time this year he has produced a double victory. Mark Silverwood drew pole position in both races, while Weyers started in second position in race two. Sliverwood led off the line, but Weyers made his intentions clear, getting to the front of the field in both races in a short amount of time. Race one saw him battle with Silverwood and Mathew Hodges, whose contact-laden tussle sent the pair off the track. Hodges recovered quickly to take third place, behind Jeffrey Kruger.

In the second race, Hodges too second spot on the podium, closely followed by Dewald Brummer in third. Tyrell Govindsamy was named Driver of the Day for the Zwartkops event, thanks to his performance on the weekend. In race one he progressed from 20th on the grid to finish in 16th and in race two finished 15th from 21st on the grid. The racing at Zwartkops was especially hard-fought, right from the qualifying session which saw the first 23 Polo Vivos separated by just one second. Of these, the top 16 cars were separated by just a half-second. In typical Engen Volkswagen Cup style, after each of the races there were bumpers, mirrors and other parts to be found at a variety of locations around the circuit, an indication of just how serious this championship is.

The penultimate round of the series takes place in Cape Town on Saturday, 5 October, where Weyers will undoubtedly be aiming to claim the championship title in front of his home crowd. The 2013 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing Volkswagen Polo Cup single-make racing series championships run in China, Europe and India. Just as in those official Volkswagen series, the South African one-make format highlights new driving talent. In the Engen series, as many as 35 drivers regularly race in technically identical, 2.0-litre 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racing cars. For 2013, the Engen Volkswagen Cup cars are powered by the new Engen Primax fuel.

RACE RESULTS

Race 1

1 Kosie Weyers (5: Engen Primax)
2 Jeffrey Kruger (7: IndyOil)
3 Mathew Hodges (12: ITR Africa/959 Panelbeaters)

Race 2
1 Kosie Weyers (5: Engen Primax)
2 Mathew Hodges (12: ITR Africa/959 Panelbeaters)
3 Dewald Brummer (22: MAD Racing/UMP/Horne Hydraulics)

The Polo remains in the top 10 best-selling cars in the UK sales chart, according to the latest sales figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Slipping down one place from July’s chart, the Volkswagen supermini was the UK ninth best-selling car in August 2013, selling 1442 units. It performs higher in the year-to-date placings, staunchly holding on to seventh place. It still can’t touch the Ford Fiesta, though, with 75,148 registrations this year so far, 3289 of those in August. The seventh-generation Golf has bolstered Volkswagen UK’s sales sheet; it rises to third place in the new SMMT tallies.

Only around 3 per cent of annual registrations occur in August ahead of September’s plate change, says the SMMT, which typically accounts for around 17 per cent of full-year registrations. The fifth successive month of double-digit growth pushes year-to-date sales figures up 10.4 per cent to 1,391,788 units. ‘UK new car registrations have now risen consecutively for a year and a half. Ahead of the September plate-change, August always has far fewer registrations, but the rise this month bodes well for the new 63-plate,’ said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive. The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during August 2013 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 3289 (75,148, 1st)

2 Vauxhall Astra: 2428 (43,324, 4th)

3 Volkswagen Golf: 2233 (39,530, 5th)

4 Ford Focus: 2225 (57,129, 2nd)

5 Vauxhall Corsa: 2151 (53,284, 3rd)

6 BMW 1 Series: 1927 (24,364, 9th)

7 Nissan Qashqai: 1875 (33,299, 6th)

8 BMW 3 Series: 1517 (26,175, 8th)

9 Volkswagen Polo: 1442 (27,730, 7th)

10 Vauxhall Insignia: 1147


(The 2013 top 10 best-selling car absent from last month’s sales figures is the Peugeot 208 in 10th place with 24,269 units sold.)