PoloDriver

The Polo R WRC Street is, for now, the ultimate performance Polo. With 217bhp from its 2.0-litre TSI engine, it can scamper to 62mph from rest in 6.4 seconds. Top speed is 151mph. Built in limited numbers, 2500 have been sold to promote Volkswagen’s high-profile World Rally Championship campaign.

But all that power is nothing without control. Eibach has announced a Pro-Kit Performance Springs kit to make the Polo R WRC Street handle with even more precision. The car’s ride height and centre of gravity is lowered and the kit gives ‘more agile handling’.

Eibach’s own Anti-Roll-Kit Performance Sway Bars decrease body roll and improve cornering stability still further and aluminium Pro-Spacer Wheel Spacers lend a wider-tracked WRC-like air to the Polo R WRC Street’s assertive appearance. All Eibach suspension components are provided with a high-quality corrosion protection and are TÜV-certified.

For further information and to find a stockist, visit Eibach’s website or call +49 2721 511 342.

Starting on 1 August, the New Polo will be driving through the streets of South Africa, and Volkswagen South Africa is giving drivers in the country the opportunity to win one for a year, by playing #PoloTag.

Playing #PoloTag is easy. Follow @VolkswagenSA on Twitter, spot the Cornflower Blue #PoloTag-emblazoned New Polo along the pre-determined specified routes, tweet #PoloTag to @VolkswagenSA and you become ‘IT’. (Tweeters need to add their location to the #PoloTag tweet, too, to be eligible to enter the competition.)

Then, @VolkswagenSA will respond to tweets with #AlmostIT, informing participants if they’ve been selected for the competition. If so, tweeters will need to make their way to the #PoloTag New Polo quickly.

When in the New Polo, the driver’s Twitter name will be placed on top of the New Polo, and timing will start. The longer that tweeter drives, the better their chances of winning the car will be.

If another tweet lands and the sender makes it to the #PoloTag Polo in time, the new tweeter tales over the drive. If not, the previous tweeter carries on the drive and has better chance of winning the car.

Each tweeter’s driving time is placed on a leaderboard and the winner is selected from a draw of longest tweeter drives in the #PoloTag New Polo. Simple?

If more than one tweet is selected at any one time, it’s a foot race to the car to take over driving. If a tweeter s beaten to the car, they have to wait until their tweet is tagged again before they have a chance to drive the car again.

The special #PoloTag New Polo is scheduled to visit Cape Town on 1-2 August, Duban on 8-9 August and finally Johannesburg on 15-16 August. Use the routes here to find the #PoloTag New Polo and search out the landmarks to stand a better chance of winning.

#PoloTag appears to be an innovative piece of social media marketing and a good way to engage with prospective New Polo customers, as well as promoting the car. We have visions of South Africans looking at their smartphones, meandering through the streets of the country’s cities, though…

Good luck!

It may have been victorious in the recent Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship (GRC) round in New York, but the Polo-RX-powered Andretti Autosport team suffered a setback in its points fight at the fifth race of 2024 in Charlotte last weekend (26-27 July).

The North Carolina track was cruel to both Tanner Foust and Scott Speed’s 500+bhp Polo RXs, with both drivers failing to finish in the top three driver placings for the final. Speed was fifth, while Foust, hindered by tyre problems and a black flag incident with Sverre Isachsen, was three places further down the field.

‘It was a hard weekend at the dirt track. The course developed deep ruts and just about everybody got flat tyres,’ said Foust. ‘Our wheels are incredibly tough and stand up to the abuse, but it’s tough to keep up the pace when you’re running on metal instead of rubber.’

Foust continued: ‘I was in the middle on the start in the final and there just wasn’t room in the first corner for all three of us. I had a tyre go flat when we tried to squeeze through and my race was pretty much over right there.’

‘This sport is rough and my Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Polo held up really well this weekend, the Top Gear USA presenter reported. ‘There were definitely battle scars from all the hits out there, but the crew worked hard and if it wasn’t for the flat tyre, we would have had a real shot at a win.’

Rallycross supremo Ken Block topped the podium at The Dirt Track, while former F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr leads the overall standings with 227 points. Andretti Autosport’s Speed is in second place with 181 points. Round 6 of the Red Bull GRC will be at the Daytona International Speedway on 22-23 August.

2014 RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

CHARLOTTE: FINAL RESULTS
1 Ken Block, #43 Hoonigan Racing Division Ford Fiesta ST
2 Sverre Isachsen, #11 Subaru Rally Team USA
3 Nelson Piquet Jr, #07 SH Racing Rallycross Ford Fiesta ST

2014 RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Nelson Piquet Jr, 227

2 Scott Speed, 181

3 Steve Arpin, 164

4 Joni Wiman, 162

5 Ken Block, 155

2014 RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Ford, 472

2 Volkswagen, 293

3 Subaru, 196

4 Hyundai, 92

5 Chevrolet, 3

Too busy to trawl PoloDriver.com for stories that interest you? We just might have the answer. In addition to the app-style website on mobile devices and our Mac-only desktop widget, there’s also the busy PoloDriver Twitter feed.

Constantly refreshed with the headlines from the website the moment the stories go live, there are also short message updates and retweets of other websites’ Polo-related stories. Unique content not found on the main website can be found on the stream, too.

Our Facebook page also features unique content, so check back there from time to time to see what’s tickling our fancy. Whether it be Polos, Volkswagens, or just cars in general, there’s no reason to miss a PoloDriver update (especially the busy motorsport threads). Catch up with the latest from us whichever way you like!

The fifth round of the 2014 Volkswagen Polo Cup Russia was won by Arkady Bogomolov and co-driver Oleg Zimin. The 81-kilometre event, which was held as part of the Russian rally cup Rostov Velikiy, rewarded the Russian duo when Alexey Igatov had to retire.

Bogomolov and Zimin’s compatriot Andrey Vavilin took secind place, while Roman Katunin finished third. The next round of the 2014 Volkswagen Polo Cup Russia will be held between 8-9 August at the Rally Wyborg between Saint Petersburg and the Finnish border.