PoloDriver

Remember the multi-coloured Polo Harlequin of 1995? Released as a special edition, the Polo Harlequin featured a multicoloured body, with each panel in a different colour. Four different versions and colourways were available – as the model was made in groups of four and the panels interchanged – with Chagall Blue, Flash Red, Pistaschio Green and Yellow being the available colours. Prospective owners didn’t know which colourway their car would be until it arrived, leaving an element of surprise in the buying process.

UK Harlequins were powered by a 1.4-litre 60bhp engine, and were fitted with 14” ‘Indianapolis’ alloy wheels and unique ‘Harlequin’ cloth, as well as a blue leather-trimmed steering wheel. Other exterior changes included white front indicators and tinted rear lamps. Originally limited to 1,000 examples worldwide, around 3,800 are thought to have been produced. Rumour has it that a few were resprayed one solid colour, as sales weren’t as high as VW was expecting.

Paul Baker of Drift Bridge Volkswagen certainly remembers the brightly-coloured special edition Polo. Wanting an eye-catching promotional vehicle to entice prospective fifth-generation Polos into the Drift Bridge Volkswagen showrooms, he had two cars wrapped in coloured film in the same colours as the original Harlequin. ‘I wanted to have a attention grabbing car for my forecourt, as Polo has some great offers at the moment, what with £500 off, 12 months free insurance and three years free servicing* (*if financed with VW Financial Services Solutions). We had two cars wrapped – one here and the other for our branch in Croydon,’ Paul said.

The wrapping was carried out by professional wrappers Creative FX, with Chris Pook leading the transformation. Each car took one day to wrap back in January, with the coloured film wrapped over a red-coloured base car. Based in Bromley, Greater London, Creative FX specialises in vinyl wrapping and personalisation of cars, vans, bikes and scooters, as well as offering stone chip protection and window tinting services for customers. And, it’s not the first time Drift Bridge Volkswagen has used Creative FX’s services. Paul Baker continues: ‘The last car we did was a bright pink Fox that went to a local customer. The Polo Harlequin 6R is for sale and we would be happy to wrap others if a customer wanted a different spec.’

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Following Volkswagen’s sensational announcement of the Polo R WRC on 5 May 2011, we’ve recently created a new section on PoloDriver.com all about the car with which VW will contest the World Rally Championship from 2013. With image galleries of both the Sardinia presentation on the eve of the Rally d’Italia Sardegna, as well as the set of official publicity shots, our dedicated Polo R WRC section on PoloDriver.com also includes the numerous approved press releases that Volkswagen Motorsport has released.

Since that first set of press releases, we’ve since learned that the 1.6T 300bhp Polo R WRC will begin testing at the end of 2011 – even if as reported, it initially appears as a pair of Škoda Fabia S2000 mules – and continue in 2012. A fully-fledged multi-car campaign will then start in 2013, with Volkswagen offically committing to 2015. Head over to our special Polo R WRC pages (navigation can also be found at the top of the page) to find out all about this latest exciting chapter in the Polo’s motorport career. We’ll be updating the section as more details are released before and after the car’s competitive debut.

Recently creeping into the pages of Volkswagen South Africa’s website is the new Polo Sedan. Based on the fifth-generation Polo hatchback and the same as the Polo Sedan sold in Russia and the Vento available in India, the new Polo Sedan joins the new Jetta, new Passat, Passat CC and Polo Vivo Sedan in the German company’s South African saloon model range. We didn’t know the notchback was due to hit South African streets, and as no press release has yet been issued, the launch of the latest new Polo variant is certainly a quiet one. And we think it’s unique that the newest generation of Polo hatchback and saloon are being sold alongside the same two variations of the last generation cars.

The South African New Polo Sedan comes with a choice of 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre petrol engines (with 63kW/84bhp and 77kW/104bhp outputs respectively) and one 1.6-litre TDI with 77kW/104bhp. There are Trendline and Comfortline trims, with the 1.6 Comfortline having the choice of an automatic ‘Tiptrionic’ gearbox. All other versions are fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox. Trendline models get 14-inch steel wheels while Comfortline cars boast 15” ‘Riverside’ alloy wheels. Comfortline sedans are further differentiated by chrome trim on the front grilles and boot lid, and colour-coded door handles.

New Polo Sedan range: retail prices (VAT and Emissions Tax included)
1.4 63kW Trendline: R159,900
1.4 63kW Comfortline: R177,000
1.6 77kW Trendline: R182,200
1.6 77kW Comfortline: R195,000
1.6 77kW Comfortline Tiptronic: R209,000
1.6 77kW Comfortline TDI: R218,000

If you were excited by the idea of the Polo going rallying when Volkswagen unveiled the Polo R WRC a couple of weeks ago, then you may be pleased to learn that a pumped-up Polo rally car isn’t the only way with which the model can flex its motorsport muscles. The Polo has been a circuit racer since the mid-1980s when Volkswagen ran the one-make Polo Cup, and similar, later championships have been staged in the China, Germany, India, Turkey and the UK, using all generations of Polo. 2011 for example, sees the Engen Volkswagen Cup (Volkswagen Polo Cup South Africa) in South Africa and the Volkswagen Polo Cup India 2011 in – surprise!– India. And while the former uses last-generation Polo-based Polo Vivos, the latter uses fully-fledge Polo track racers, based on the latest fifth-generation 6R model.

Now, added to all that track-based activity, is the introduction of the Polo-T touring car. Run in the 2011 Chinese Touring Car Championship (CTCC), the five-door shell is powered by an FIA-approved 1.6-litre turbocharged engine producing 250bhp/184kW. Shanghai VW 333 Racing have entered four cars into the 2011 CTCC, and we’ll be keeping an interested eye on the cars for the rest of the season. Three classes make up the CTCC. There is the China Production Class (CPC) – formerly the 1600cc class – and the Super Production Class with naturally aspirated engines (SPNA), as well as the new Super Production Turbo class (SPT) class for cars with 1.6 litre turbocharged engines, in which the Polo-Ts compete.

The wide-arched and big-winged Polo-Ts will rub body panels with Suzuki Swift Turbos and Chevrolet Cruzes over the eight race weekend series (which ends in November), and are driven by Han-Han, Wang Rue, Gao Hua Yang and Sun Chao. The first round on 9 and 10 April saw moderate success, with Gao Huayang’s Polo-T winning the SPT class, beating Chen Huping’s Suzuki Swift Turbo into second place. The only SPT class finishers at the STC circuit in Shanghai, the next round of the series takes place on 28 and 29 May at the ZIC circuit in Zhuhai.

[Source: vwwatercooled.org // Images: Shanghai VW 333 Racing]

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We can exclusively reveal that Milltek Sport is currently in the final stages of testing a full turbo-back exhaust system for the new Polo GTI. Although it’s still in testing, Milltek confirms it sounds fantastic and really suits the mini-Golf GTI character of the car perfectly.

While the Polo GTI is closely related to the SEAT Ibiza Cupra and Bocanegra 1.4 TSI, the exhaust design still required some subtle changes to suit the slightly different aesthetics of the Volkswagen variant. As you can see from the photos, the tailpipes really add a bit of glamour to the rear of the car and let other drivers know the GTI in front is a little bit special. Not that they won’t be able to tell that from new sound coming from the enlarged twin tailpipes.

The Milltek exhaust system will be available in cat-back form (which does not require ECU tuning), or for those wishing to take full advantage of the engine’s tuning potential, a full turbo-back option featuring a large-bore downpipe and hi-flow sports catalyst. Milltek only uses the highest quality German HJS catalysts to ensure that the car will remain emission-legal and pass the UK MOT test – even with an ECU remap and a full exhaust system. Through an extensive development process, Milltek engineers have been able to develop an exhaust that is rich in its depth of sound with an aggressive undertone but have also been able to ensure that the Polo GTI’s everyday cruising integrity within the cabin is preserved intact.

The Milltek performance exhaust packages for the Polo GTI will be available from your nearest Milltek stockist very soon. Visit www.millteksport.com/dealers to find your nearest Milltek dealer or contact Milltek Sport for further details on +44 1332 227 280. We’ll bring you more details on the performance exhaust packages available and pricing when they are released.