PoloDriver

Highly changeable weather on the two-day Garden Route Rally on 26-27 August threw many obstacles to the competitors, but the BP Volkswagen team survived the punishing event, overcoming many obstacles on the way. Damp weather on Friday gave way to sunny conditions on Saturday, and the nine-stage event saw the Enzo Kuun/Guy Hodgson car come home in fourth place, the highest-position Polo Vivo S2000. Giniel de Villiers and Ralph Pitchford finished one place behind Kuun/Hodgson, the defending series champions.

Other cars in the BP Volkswagen livery didn’t fare as well. Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries landed heavily after a yump, damaging their radiator in stage three. While the damage meant they could carry on, they had to retire at the end of the round. A tree stump on stage nine was the undoing of Jan Habig and Robert Paisley, damaging their rear suspension fatally. The S1600 class pairing of Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin were knocked out in stage eight when a cracked exhaust manifold lead to a burning engine mount. S1400 class competitors Megan Verlaque and Hilton Auffray had better luck, though, winning their class with their Polo Vivo and getting their new rallying partnership off to a flying start. The next round of the 2011 South African National Rally Championship is the Western Cape Rally on 22-23 September.

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Back in 1983, the high performance Polo Sprint was built to provide handling data for Volkswagen engineers, and with the arrival of his Volkswagen UK XDS electronic differential lock-equipped 178bhp Polo GTI, Rich Gooding looks at the important role the Sprint played in the development of modern-day traction control systems

Renault is king of stuffing large engines aft of the front seats into its small hatchbacks, but few people realise that Volkswagen has done it, too. Showing its wild side, VW unveiled the rear-engined Polo Sprint at a company press conference in 1983. The idea was a simple one: to make a small and light, high-performance vehicle built using production components.

A one-off prototype for evaluating handling data and aiding Volkswagen’s computer modelling, the Polo Sprint was rear-wheel drive, and powered by a 1.9-litre, flat-four engine from the Caravelle. Starting life as a 90bhp Caravelle Carat unit, a supercharger (which went to become the G40 blower), fuel injection and an intercooler boosted engine output to 155bhp, more than enough to give the Sprint a sometimes lively rear end.

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The Polo R WRC testing programme continues. Volkswagen Motorsport finished the 2011 ADAC Rallye Deutschland on 18-21 August with two podium places. Once again using two 270bhp Škoda Fabia S2000s, Hans Weijs Jr (NL) and Bjoern Degandt (B) came second in the Super 2000 class, while German duo Christian Riedemann and Michael Wenzel finished third in class, claiming 15th place overall. ‘Our test run at the ADAC Rallye Deutschland went without the slightest problems and again provided us with many new findings. After three victories at the Dakar Rally we’ve got to re-organise ourselves in some areas and gather as much experience as possible. Our team had done a good job of preparing itself and accomplished the mission without making any mistakes,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. The full Volkswagen Motorsport press release and more pictures follow.

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Look at that. Two silver ‘sports’ Polos on the drive. Only 18 years and 103bhp separate them. Whereas our long-term 75bhp Polo GT coupé relies on simple mechanical make-up and charm to make up for its lack of electric fripperies, Volkswagen UK’s 178bhp Polo GTI press car is packed with tech. Top of the technological spec sheet must be the 1.4-litre twin-charged engine, which features both a turbocharger and a supercharger. Then there’s XDS, an electronic differential lock, and electric everything. We’ve got J6 VWW for two whole weeks and we’ve got lots of miles planned. We hope to exploit its performance, test its dynamic polish, and see if it’s as all-round a package as its bigger brother, the Golf GTI. Follow the updates on our Twitter feed at @polodrivercom, and if you’ve had experience of Volkswagen’s latest pocket rocket (or its closely related SEAT or Škoda cousins), tell us what you think.

The latest new vehicle sales statistics have been released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), and it’s a familiar story for Volkswagen South Africa. The biggest-selling car for July 2011 was once again the Polo Vivo, closely followed by the Polo 6R. The entry-level Polo Vivo/Polo Vivo Sedan range sold 3142 units last month, while 2111 fifth-generation Polo hatchbacks and recently-launched Polo Sedans found South African homes. In addition, a total of 7876 fifth-generation Polos were exported to markets around the world. NAAMSA reported that all segments of the market had improved when compared to the same period last year, with an increase of 10.5% on domestic sales, while exports have risen 8.1%.

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R104,065 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R156,220 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2011 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo is also available as both a three and five-door hatchback in addition to the Polo Sedan.