Siemoneit Racing Volkswagen Polo GTI packs 316bhp punch
The latest 197bhp Polo GTI may be the most powerful version of Volkswagen’s smaller hot hatch icon to hit the roads, but it’s the not the most powerful series production Polo ever. That honour goes to the 217bhp limited edition 2013 Polo R WRC Street. But don’t worry: the take on the current Polo GTI offered by Siemoneit Racing blows the R WRC Street well and truly out of the water.
Based in Ottenbecker near Hamburg, the German tuner’s modifications packages will take the current Polo GTI’s power up to 316bhp. Siemoneit’s Stage 1 option boosts the standard car’s 2.0-litre engine from 197bhp to 242bhp (the same as the larger Golf GTI Performance in factory tune), with torque up to 302lb ft, 66lb ft over the original figure. The cost? Around £535 (€598). For a little extra, Stage 1+ adds a further 5bhp and 11lb ft.
316bhp, 317lb ft
But the full-fat Stage 3+ is where the real fun and games begin. The Golf R-bothering 316bhp and 317lb ft comes courtesy of an enlarged turbocharger, a new intercooler and plumbing pipes, as well as a performance sports exhaust, and tweaks to the DSG gearbox to handle the beefed-up power. Super-Golf performance doesn’t come cheap, though: at £8,000 (€8,998) once the cost of the donor car has been factored in, the price is right in Golf R terrority, too.
But if that’s still not hardcore enough (rarely has the word ‘hardcore’ been used in conjunction with a Polo GTI before), for around £11,000 (€11,630), Siemoneit Racing will turn your Polo GTI into something of a Porsche 968 Clubsport. Kind of. The rear seats are ditched and replaced by a full roll-cage, Recaros with Sabelt harnesses keep you pinned in your seat as the Siemoneit Polo GTI’s pace catapults you towards the horizon and KW Clubsport suspension and 18-inch ATS rims wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber keep the performance Polo pinned to the tarmac.
All that translates to a 0 to 62mph time of 5.2 seconds – 1.5 seconds faster than the standard Polo GTI – and a top speed of 159mph. With little evidence of a more powerful official Polo GTI Performance model in the offing, Siemoneit Racing’s programme of upgrades offer exciting, if expensive, ways to turn VW’s second-smallest hot hatch into a real road-burner. If you like what you see, find out more at www.siemoneit-racing.de.
