VW Polo WRC from 2013

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Kev
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VW Polo WRC from 2013

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Volkswagen has confirmed that it will enter the World Rally Championship with a Polo WRC from 2013.

The German manufacturer, which has been linked to a programme for several months, made the announcement on the eve of Rally Italy in Sardinia. It says the car will be ready to test before the end of this year, and that it will test throughout 2012 ahead of a debut at the start of 2013. The budget is already in place for three full years of competition, according to VW motorsport boss Kris Nissen.

VW has participated in the WRC before - it ran front-wheel-drive Golf GTis during the mid-1980s - but the new programme will mark the company’s first proper assault on the overall title. It plans to run Skoda Fabias on selected events next year to help build team experience of rallies ahead of 2013. This is an ironic development, since the Czech manufacturer is said to have had its own WRC programme canned in favour of a VW effort.

Since rumours of a WRC campaign started over a year ago, VW has been linked to a number of drivers - including Sebastien Loeb and Petter Solberg - but it declined to name any signings this evening. “We have plenty of time and I am sure we will find a driver whose ambitions and values match those of Volkswagen,” said board member Dr Ulrich Hackenberg.

However, WRC insiders suggest that VW’s decision to not confirm Solberg as its major star signing indicates that talks with Loeb have not dried up, as previously thought.

Nissen admitted at the launch that the WRC campaign means the end of the company’s successful Dakar programme. But he acknowledged, “We have had many approaches, we have the cars and it is possible that we could run a customer team.”
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Re: VW Polo WRC from 2013

Post by Chungster »

I want to know what they'll do with the Road car version!
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Re: VW Polo WRC from 2013

Post by wigit »

Chungster wrote:I want to know what they'll do with the Road car version!
looks superb and nice to see they have copied the AMD Milltek Golfs arch design

funnily enough VWR have had a polo gti land in addition to a cw rocco which is going to be spot on :)
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Re: VW Polo WRC from 2013

Post by Kev »

VW ruled out a polo R a while back but there's rumours, oddly, of a Beetle R.
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Re: VW Polo WRC from 2013

Post by wigit »

Kev wrote:VW ruled out a polo R a while back but there's rumours, oddly, of a Beetle R.
there is a lot of love for the new beetle and the rsi version of the previous one was a cult classic
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Re: VW Polo WRC from 2013

Post by Kev »

Looks like they might have changed their mind :)
Volkswagen is lining up a hardcore performance version of its Polo to back up its assault on the World Rally Championship, details of which were officially confirmed last week.

The German manufacturer has previously shied away from allowing its performance division, R GmbH, to develop an extreme version of its small hatchback, saying that it was struggling to make the business case for an ultra-fast, ultra-expensive small car.

But the rally car mock-up revealed at the launch carried heavy amounts of R branding and is being labelled the ‘Polo R WRC’ by Volkswagen.

Speaking to Autocar, VW board member Ulrich Hackenberg admitted that the WRC campaign — which is based around the Polo and will start in 2013 — would make a variant beyond the current GTI “more likely”.

He said: “You can see how the World Rally Championship programme would increase the probability of an R version of the base model [Polo].” When asked for a timeframe, he said: “It is with the rally programme, not before it. I can’t give a precise date, but it’s along those lines.”

That means a Polo R is due, but it is unlikely to go on sale until 2013 at the earliest. The rally programme will have a car ready to test before the end of this year. But it won’t make its competitive debut until 2013.

The hot Polo is likely to use a further development of the Volkswagen Group’s 1.4-litre, turbocharged and supercharged motor. Volkswagen has cited the new WRC rules, based on smaller engines, as a major factor in its decision to enter the series because of their close links to production models.

The Polo R’s version of the motor is likely to produce considerably more than the GTI’s 177bhp. Expect a figure north of 200bhp. Four-wheel drive is unlikely, although the car could use the same system as Audi’s forthcoming S1, helping to justify the development costs of making the set-up work on that platform.
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Re: VW Polo WRC from 2013

Post by Chungster »

and maybe the Polo R???

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http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Secret-new ... rong-Polo/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Only artists impression so far but might even tempt me to down grade to! As long as it can hold my golf clubs :D
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Re: VW Polo WRC from 2013

Post by Deacon »

Nice video of this in testing:-

[youtube][/youtube]
playing in my '86
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