PoloDriver

The Indian-built Volkswagen Vento was recently subjected to a series of crash tests by the Asean NCAP, following a reassessment of the closely-related Indian-built Volkswagen Polo. The notchback version of the Polo hatchback scored 4 out of a possible five stars in both adult occupant and child occupant safety tests.

The car tested was sourced from Volkswagen Malaysia – the Vento is exported to Malyasia in CKD form where it is sold as the Volkswagen Polo Sedan – and was fitted with front side airbags and dual front airbags. Indian Autos Blog states that only the lack of ESC (Electronic Stability Control) prevented it from scoring a maximum five-star rating.

The Vento also passed a side impact protection test. It is interesting to note that although the test car lacked ESC, both the ‘sports’ Vento TSI and Polo GT TSI models sold in India are fitted with this feature. The model tested was fitted with a 1.6-litre engine and a six-speed automatic transmission, and was built in late 2013.

[Source: Indian Autos Blog]

At the first round of the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship in Portugal, Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikinnen and Anton Marklund drove their Polo RX Supercars into the final, taking fourth and fifth places respectively. The Marklund Motorsport drivers are third and sixth in the overall drivers’ standings after the season’s opener at the Pista Internacional de Montalegre in Montalegre. Marklund Motorsport is second in the manufacturer points table. Former World Rally Championship ace Petter Solberg took overall victory in the Supercar class.

After the first and second heats, Team Peugeot-Hansen driver Timur Timerzyanov lead the pack in his Peugeot 208. Heikinnen finished fourth in heat one, while the no 92 Polo of Marklund was in eighth place. Solberg finished second. Heat two saw Heikinnen’s no 57 Polo in third and Marklund fifth.

In the third of the four heats, Heikinnen finished two rankings ahead of sixth-placed Marklund. In the final heat, Marklund reversed the order staying in sixth, once place higher than Heikinnen. The first semi-final saw Marklund third out of six drivers. Heikinnen meanwhile, finished second in the second sem-final, meaning both young 560bhp Polo drivers lined up on the grid for the final six laps of the 0.945-metre track.

The next round is the World Rallycross of Great Britain, at Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Kent, UK on Saturday and Sunday 24-25 May.

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
PORTUGAL: FINAL RESULTS
1 Petter Solberg, PS 100% AB, Citroën DS3: 4m 02.081s
2 Andreas Bakkerud, Olsbergs MSE AB, Ford Fiesta ST: +0:02.358s
3 Renis Nitiss, Olsbergs MSE AB, Ford Fiesta ST: +0:03.048s
4 Toomas Heikinnen, Marklund Motorsport, Volkswagen Polo: +0:05.025s
5 Anton Marklund, Marklund Motorsport, Volkswagen Polo: +0:05.901s
6 Koen Pauwels, Koen Pauwels, Ford Focus: +0:10.790s

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Petter Solberg, 29
2 Renis Nitiss, 24
3 Toomas Heikinnen, 21
4 Andreas Bakkerud, 20
5 Timur Timerzyanov, 19
6 Anton Marklund, 18

[Images: www.rallycrossrx.com, Tom Banks Photography]

As well as seeing action in the World Rally Championship, the Polo is to star in another high-profile FIA-sanctioned series, the World Rallycross Champinship presented by Monster Energy which kicks off on 3-4 May at Montalegre in Portugal.

More than 50 of the world’s best rallycross drivers will battle it out at the Portugese track, in Supercar, Super1600 and TouringCar classes.

Volkswagen Motorsport has teamed up with rallycross team Marklund Motorsport to run a two-car Polo RX squad with drivers Anton Marklund and Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikinnen. The Swedish outfit are well-known in rallycross circles and Anton Marklund ran a Polo RX during the 2013 season.

The 2014 Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar developed together with Volkswagen Motorsport generates an almost unbelievable 560bhp across all four wheels and can accelerate from 0 to 62mph (100km/h) in 2.1 seconds!
 
‘I can’t wait for the season to finally start,’ said Topi Heikkinen, adding: ‘We’re aiming for the championship title – but it’s going to be a tough fight, because seasoned professionals and fast up-and-coming drivers take part in the rallycross championship.’
 
Anton Marklund is chomping at the bit too: ‘I’m really looking forward to the start of the season in Portugal. I can no doubt learn a lot from my teammate Topi. And I couldn’t ask for any better support from the team. I’m feeling good about the new season.’

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Another Polo milestone was reached this week, with the production of the 1.5 millionth ‘A05’ model Type 6R at Volkswagen Navarra in Spain. The Pamplona factory has produced the fifth-generation car since its launch in 2009, and has also started to make the revised model which PoloDriver.com drove in Germany last week.

Over the last four months, the Spanish workers have made the outgoing and new models simultaneously, making 1524 units per day. In 2011 over 353,000 fifth-generation Polo 6Rs were made, contributing to the highest annual production figures seen by the Pamplona plant.

The Polos built in Navarre are exported to 75 countries globally, with European markets taking the bulk of supply. Volkswagen Navarra’s 5000 workers also make the bodies for the Polo R WRC rally cars. This year, 308,000 Polos are expected to manufactured in Spain, both pre- and post-facelift 6R models. Volkswagen has sold over 14 million Polos since its launch in March 1975.

In the first of nine rounds, Alexey Ignatov and Alina Kondratieff (RUS/RUS) emerged victorious at the recent opening stages of the Volkswagen Polo Cup Russia. The 165bhp Volkswagen Polo which conforms to the technical specifications of the RC5 rally class, led the fourth ‘Rally Masters Show’ in Moscow rankings early. The Russian duo led to the end of the rally, climbing onto the podium after 39 kilometres of six special stages.

Vadim Lelyukh and Alexander Danilov (RUS/RUS) finished second. The final step on the podium was awarded to a duo from Germany. Starting as a guest driver, Helmar Hinneberg (D), experienced rally co-driver and member of the Volkswagen Motorsport Meteo crew in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), navigated the German journalist Reiner Kuhn into third place.