PoloDriver

Volkswagen has recently released 11 clips of the Polo in production in the company’s Pamplona plant in Spain. The whole process has been documented, and includes: body manufacturing; dip priming of the body; painting; tolerance measuring in the cockpit; engine assembly; ‘marriage’ of the body and running gear; ceiling, door and front end assembly; and final inspection and vehicle testing. A truly world car, the Polo isn’t just manufactured in Spain. Right-hand drive models are made in South Africa at the Uitenhage factory, while facilities in Argentina (Pacheco), China (Shanghai) and Pune (India) also produce versions of the Polo.

Click on the video above to see a montage clip of the Polo in production at Pamplona and head here to subscribe to the PoloDriverTV channel on YouTube.

After the GTI, the new Polo Saloon (the Sedan nameplate seems to have been dropped) is the one incoming fifth-generation Polo variant that has grabbed the most headlines. Both long-awaited and long-rumoured, Volkswagen has officially unveiled the car today in Moscow. Tailor-made for the Russian market and expected to be priced from €10,000 (a very modest £8300 at current exchange rates), only one 1.6-litre 104bhp engine is available, with either a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox.

To be built at Volkswagen’s brand new Kaluga factory in the traditional continental trims of Trendline, Comfortline and Highline, a version will also be sold in India later in the year. The biggest question of course, is whether this is the Polo model which will be heading Stateside? The latest in a line of European and global Polo notchbacks starting with the Derby in 1977, initial reports state that the new Saloon won’t be coming to the UK, where (unlike the US) buyers traditionally prefer hatchbacks. The full Volkswagen press release follows.

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Audi celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2010, and part of its celebrations include the publication of Four Rings – The Audi Story, a 368-page book documenting the company’s illustrious and at times, ground-breaking past. Available in English and German language versions, Audi has posted new pages on its corporate website to document both the publication and the evolution of its models and, more excitingly, has released vintage colour publicity images of the Audi 50 at various locations.

The ‘new’ photographs depict the car in France as well as at the press launch in Sardinia in 1974, and have a typical Seventies look about them. The 50 is in the Four Rings book, too; a spread on pages 226 and 227 tell the development and production story of Audi’s premium supermini, on sale from 1974 to 1978. An online digital preview is available here; the book is published by Delius Klasing and can be ordered by clicking on this link. Head over to our Audi 50 publicity image gallery to see the new colour pictures.

Following preview microsites and information requests from potential buyers, Volkswagen Australia has finally launched the new Polo. The major product push for the Australian arm of the German giant this year, the new advertising campaign focuses on a ‘Followers of no one’ message – the thinking is that the car appeals to individualists – and VW has built a superbly interactive microsite to ensure that message gets into all those non-conformist’s heads. There are directly (fuel economy, performance, style options) and not so directly-related (innovative designers, unusual professions) photos and videos, all of which are accessed by a cleverly rendered Polo which can be ‘driven’ across the screen.

Buyers can even watch the TV spot which accompanies the campaign, by ‘driving’ to that particular on-screen parking space. As off-beat and strange as its parent microsite, the 45-second commercial features four friends driving to a bar, although all isn’t as it first appears. Mutating faces and clothes allied to outer space-type phaser noises give a clue the chaps’ origins. Confirmation from silver shoes pointing to alien descent comes at the end of the spot. Whether it works or not, the ‘For dedicated followers of no one’ commercial is certainly one of the most unusual and creative we’ve seen for the fifth-generation model. The Australian Polo range starts at $19,990 for the five-speed manual Trendline.

‘For dedicated followers of no one’ TV campaign credits
Agency: DDB Sydney
National ECD: Matt Eastwood
Creative Director: Mark Harricks
Creative Team: Paul Sharp & Mike Burdick
Business Management: Scott Thomson & Patrice Bougouin
Strategy: Nick Andrews
Director: Gary Freedman
Photography: Andreas Smetana
Production House: Revolver Film
Media Agency: Mediacom

A 22-year-old engineering graduate from Visakhapatnam took the spoils this weekend at the inaugural rounds of the Volkswagen Polo Cup India 2010. Races one and two of the new championship were held at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati sports complex near Pune, and saw Sailesh Bolisetti drive to victory in his 129bhp TDI Polo Cup racer, beating his 19 other compatriots. The Volkswagen India Motorsport and JK Tyres championship saw a massive crowd turnout, for what is arguably India’s most-awaited motorsport series of the year.

The street track at Pune was kind to Bolisetti and he led race one from the start, ahead of Saran Vikram. Third place was awarded to Mohammed Fahad Kutty, although his result wasn’t without controversy. Overtaking under a yellow flag gained Kutty a 15-second penalty and saw him lose his podium place, Kartik Shankar taking third spot after Kutty’s points and time were readjusted. The 15-lap race was entertaining too; a tyre wall scrape for Kutty and Alisha Abdullah’s first corner spin delighted the ecstatic crowd.

Race two was a rerun for Bolisetti. Leading from the off, he finished in front of second-placed Shankar, while Kutty drove a cleaner race to step on the podium, crossing the line in third place. The next round of the championship will be held at the Kari Motor Speedway, Coimbatore over the weekend of July 17 and 18. The Volkswagen Polo Cup India 2010 is run by Volkswagen India Motorsport in conjunction with JK Tyres. All 20 young competitors drive identical and centrally-prepared 129bhp TDI Polo Cup racing cars.

[Source: Overdrive]