PoloDriver

Volkswagen has actively started to look for drivers for its 2013 Polo R WRC rally car, by launching a testing programme using Škoda Fabia SWRC works rally cars. The new talent assessment tests will be run throughout 2011 at selected rallies, in the hope that Volkswagen Motorsport can find new star rally drivers who have the potential to go on to be world champions. Two Scandinavian teams (one Norwegian, one Finnish) will contest the Finland Rally from 28-31 July. Established WRC drivers are also not being rules out. The Polo R WRC is expected to make its competitive debut on the 2013 Monte Carlo Rally. The full Volkswagen Motorsport press release follows.

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GTI International is arguably the UK’s largest water-cooled Volkswagen event, and in 2011 celebrates its 24th birthday. Held last weekend (25-26 June) at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in Leicestershire and despite damp weather on Saturday, a record turnout was recorded according to organisers Autometrix Publications (publishers of independent Volkswagen Driver and Audi Driver magazines). Warm weather on Sunday brought out Polos of all styles and generations to rub tyres with the Mk 1, Mk 2, Mk 3, Mk 4, Mk 5, and Mk 6 Golf GTIs from which the event takes it name. If you’re a genuine water-pumper Volkswagen enthusiast, then the event will need no introduction. But, for those who have never been before, serial Polo/car enthusiast and journalist Alex Grant was there for us on Sunday to record the best Polos in attendance. Click the slideshow below to see which Polos caught Alex’s eye.

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Performance software specialist and Volkswagen tuner Revo Technik has recently introduced replacement performance air filters for selected fifth-generation Polo 6R models built from 2009 onwards. Constructed from specifically-developed polyurethane foam, and resulting in higher performance and improved life expectancy, the filters start at £42.49 plus VAT. Available for Polo 1.6 TDI, 1.2 TSI and 1.4 GTI models, there’s even a fitment for the 1.2 TDI BlueMotion, somewhat going against the eco-car’s ethos we feel. Revo Technik also offers a Stage 1 Performance ECU Tuning Software upgrade package, which the company says, ‘is designed to work on vehicles with standard components. Power, torque, responsiveness and flexibility are all improved while maintaining factory levels of smoothness, reliability and fuel economy.’ A Supersprint cat-back exhaust system for the 1.2 TSI is also available. Visit the Revo website for more information and to order.

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It’s undergone a name change since we last reported on it, but the Polo R Cup India 2011 (formerly the Volkswagen Polo Cup India 2011) is still essentially the same formula as before. While the name may owe something to the 300bhp Polo R WRC world rally championship car announced back in May (and possibly lend even more credence to the Polo R road car rumours), the Polo R Cup India racers are essentially unchanged from the 2010 cars. That means 130bhp, 1.6-litre TDI engines, and a low 1090kg weight, in addition to body styling modifications and racing technical upgrades.

The first rounds of the 2011 championship kicked off the season on 19 June at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. It was a perfect weekend for Vishnu Prasad, winning both races. The first victory was straightforward enough, taking the chequered flag from pole position, while the 19 year-old Chennai driver took the podium in the second race starting from eighth position and worked his way up the 20-strong grid. Mihir Dharkar and Saif Mir took second and third places respectively in the first round.

A reverse grid for the second race gave Alisha Abdullah – the only female driver – a pole position which she held on to for 10 laps. Pressure from her charging rivals Prasad and Mihir Dharkar ousted her from the top spot, but a third place and a step on the podium was reward enough. It was also the first podium finish for a female driver on the Volkswagen Polo R Cup India. Prasad goes to the next rounds (once again at the Kari Motor Speedway at Coimbatore) on 15 July with a six-point lead over Dharkar.

Prithviraj Siddappa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India, said of the second race: ‘It was one of the most exciting races I have experienced as we kick off the second season of Polo R Cup. It was a spectacular race and I am very happy to see Alisha on the podium. The driving witnessed today is proof that we have the crème of the young Indian motorsport talent as part of our programme. I am really thrilled to be a part of their journey as they develop as drivers over the course of the Polo R Cup 2011.’

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The Volkswagen Polo Vivo was once again the top-selling passenger car in South Africa last month. In hatchback and sedan (saloon) guises it claimed the top spot with a total of 2547 sales, according to the latest figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA). The fifth-generation Polo also did well in May 2011, coming in second, with 1935 units finding new homes. The new Polo Sedan was included in the figures, the first time the latest addition to the South African Polo range has appeared. The nearest challenger to Volkswagen South Africa’s dominance was the Ford Figo (a last-generation facelifted Fiesta), which sold 1128 examples.

Volkswagen South Africa also exported 9408 fifth-generation Polo hatchbacks in May 2011 (all right-hand drive models are manufactured at the company’s plant in Uitenhage). Total Polo 6R sales mean that it’s third overall in South African total vehicle sales (as opposed to passenger car sales) for May 2011, with a 4.7% market share. The Polo Vivo is second in total vehicle sales, with 6.1% of the market, while the Toyota Hilux claims 6.2% of the total market, only selling 11 units more than the Polo Vivo. The South African car market saw an increase of 6% in May 2011, with 41,555 registrations recorded.

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R104,065 for the 1.4 hatchback to R156,220 for the top 1.6 Sedan, the 2011 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo, (9N3) built from 2005 to 2009. The new fifth-generation Polo is also available as both a three and five-door hatchback in addition to the recently-launched four-door booted Polo Sedan.

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