PoloDriver

Last time we caught up with Simon Kimber and his 1991 Polo GT Coupé, new standard-length and uprated front shock absorbers, bump stops and top mounts had just been fitted. Was he pleased with the results?

On first impressions the Koni shock absorbers are softer than the Weitecs fresh out the box, but it is something I can get used to in time. The knocking noise from the front nearside of the car has now vanished; the bobbling sounds on uneven surfaces are nowhere to be found. The braking now seems to be much improved, too; it’s a fact that a seriously worn shock absorber can increase the braking distance by quite a margin or make a car a bit uncontrollable in an emergency, at least.

The result of all this work was that when H714 ERP went for its MoT, it passed with flying colours, with not even an advisory item being, well, advised.

The MoT test is not a black art despite what you may think. If you know what to look for and even notice it early enough, you should have no nasty surprises (for the past few years I’ve worked in garage workshops, so like to think I know the basics). You could have your car serviced before its MoT to make sure, but I find it better to do all that around a month ahead of the test to give you time to sort it all out. Of course, it may not help if the tester is having a bad day.

Costs this month: £0

We’ve had the P!nk soundtracked TV commercials, the Heidi Klum promotional interviews and the ‘Timeless’ UK website tie-ins, but Volkswagen clearly wasn’t sure that the new Polo message is getting across fully. So, to appeal yet further to the younger generation of drivers and buyers that it hopes to attract, its made a computer-animated video of the new car to impress them.

And it is impressive. At some points in the short film, you’re left wondering where the virtual and real cars meet (clue: there’s no real car in it), and the detail is stunning. The original film is being used on a Polo ‘web special’ microsite, which can be found on many of Volkswagen’s country or region specific websites, sometimes under the ‘configurator’ banner. We found it on the Volkswagen Ireland Polo promotional pages and we know that it was also available at www.volkswagen.de too.

The stills illustrated here don’t do the film justice. There are two versions, each with differing middle sections. As promotion tools go, it looks incredibly sharp and fits in with the new technology platforms that Volkswagen is using to market the car, which in turn should appeal to the core market the company’s after. View the first film above, and click here to see the second version.

Minichamps, maker of superbly detailed diecast model cars have recently announced a new version the Series 1 Polo to add to their Volkswagen collection. In popular 1:43 scale and finished in Cadiz Orange (not an original colour we think, but close enough to Marino Gelb), it looks the part and based on the company’s previous Polo releases, it should make an excellent addition to any Polo model collector’s garage.

Minichamps has released models of Series 1 Polos before. A few years ago, it released a Phoenix Red version of this same model limited to 2,736 pieces (this new one is to be made in only 744 examples), and versions in three other colours. Three of the Polo’s sister car, the Audi 50 were produced, too, one in bright vivid green.

Exquisitely detailed from the steel wheels and rear hatchback badges to the interior wooden-panelled dashboard, at around €20 each, they sound expensive, but you won’t find another Series 1 diecast so well-detailed. The new orange version can be found on eBay now for upwards of €25, or if you’re in the UK, you can order it from Grand Prix Legends.

If you look hard enough, though, there’s an even rarer Series 1 diecast circulating the well-known auction site. Based on a Minichamps diecast, the Jägermeister Racing Polo is old school cool to the core, and at the same scale as the regular model, would look very smart on the same shelf. We’re unsure as to whether the racing model is custom-made, but the decals are all there, along with a lack of bumpers and large, deep-dished, gold-centred wire racing alloys. Perfect.

Exclusivity comes at a price, though. Whereas the original model is €25, this touring car replica one starts just over 79. Think about it – almost £72 for a 1:43 model. While we’d love to have it parked in our 1:43 garage, at this price it would only get an outing on high days and holidays; sadly not enough to justify the expense.

The new range-topping 104bhp 1.2 supercharged and turbocharged engine used by the forthcoming Polo SEL TSI has gone into production at Škoda’s Mladá Boleslav factory in the Czech Republic, famed for building the company’s range of power units. Production of the new four-cylinder powerplant has forced expansion of the plant. Speaking last week, Škoda’s head of engine manufacturing, Milan Stanek said: ‘This new unit is going to be one of the most important engines for the Volkswagen Group, and we are pleased that it is our plant that is going to manufacture it.’

[Source: CarAdvice]

With all the furore surrounding the rumours that Volkswagen might be considering a firecracking Polo R, we thought we’d share details of another high-performance Polo which was under consideration five years ago. We recently hinted at a design study for a hot shot Polo 2004-style. Well, here it is.

Rumoured to be called ‘R25’, ‘R18’ or ‘R23’ but commonly referred to as the R25, it was so-called due to a possible 2.5-litre engine configuration. But, let’s face it, Volkswagen was never going to sell a 2.5-litre Polo, so the numbers in the other proposed ‘R’ model designations also refer to engine displacements; in this case, 1.8 and 2.3.

We think the car we saw in 2004 at the fascinating and fabulous AutoMuseum Volkswagen in Wolfsburg was effectively a styling prototype. We’d seen photographs of the car on the internet before we went, but thought that the car had been stored away – it was never a permanent exhibit. So, imagine our surprise when in front of us sat a rare Mystic Blue piece of Polo history.

A little brother to the Golf R32, the R25 had a tough-looking bodykit made up of blistered wheelarches, deeper sills, larger spoiler and unique mesh-filled sports bumpers. Twin exhausts exited at the back, while 17″ Polo Dune BBS wheels filled the arches. A newly-developed 1.8, 2.3 or 2.5-litre engine was rumoured to have been fitted, but sources close to the museum stated that the car was in fact running a standard 1.4 unit.

This special one-off Polo was returned to Volkswagen’s development centre in Wolfsburg, and as far as we’re aware, was never seen again outside of the company. Why was the plug pulled? There could be a number of reasons. The on-sale price would have been high; there was no GTI version in the range at the time; or the bodykit might not have sat quite right with the feminine looks of the Series 4 Polo.

Whatever the reason, the car looked sensational, and it’s sad it never saw the light of day as a production Polo. Volkswagen is traditionally a conservative company and will no doubt keep a close eye on the sales of the recently-launched Golf and Scirocco Rs to see if a Polo version is worthwhile. But, we’ve recently read reports that the company has said no to the Polo R, stating that nothing smaller than a Golf will carry the ‘R’ badge, which, if correct, is a real shame.