PoloDriver

An automotive pick and mix (or ‘Pic ‘n’ Mix’ in Woolworths speak) – that’s the SMMT Test Day. Staged annually at Millbrook Proving Ground, Bedfordshire, it’s a one-day gathering for over 300 UK-based motoring journalists to test around 140 cars, provided by 33 car manufacturers and importers. Also a chance to meet the PR staff from the car makers and to meet and make contact with fellow writers and bloggers, we went along this year, after receiving an invite from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) who have organised the event for over 25 years. And for starstruck wannabe motoring writers like ourselves, SMMT Test Day also lets you get up close and personal with your writing heroes.

Millbrook is the ideal place for testing anything with wheels, be they two or four. Built in the 1960s by Vauxhall, it boasts a three-section, progressive-gradient and tight-corner Hill Route to represent alpine driving roads; outer and inner-handling courses (used on SMMT Test Day as the ‘City Course’); and the High-Speed Bowl, a two-mile circular banked circuit which is used, as the name implies, for high-speed testing. The facility is well-known, having been featured in numerous challenges for BBC’s Top Gear; it is used for tests in the UK motoring programme Fifth Gear; and has played a starring role in the James Bond film Casino Royale. Though well-known, the venue isn’t open to the public, as camouflaged prototypes of as yet unreleased cars can often be seen pounding the enclosed routes, undergoing final testing.

So, the perfect venue. And with 140 cars available to grab the keys of, it was recommended to make a shortlist to use Millbrook to the full. With around 30 cars that appealed, our shortlist was a hopeless one, being more of a ‘longlist’, so as the day progressed, we plumped for models from inside the Volkswagen Group, with some notable Polo-based models included for healthy in-house competition. With our list, Audi A1s followed in the tyre tracks of SEAT Ibizas and Volkswagen Ups, and in the end, only 12 cars made the final ‘tested’ list, some 18 short of our initial plan! But, it was our first year in attendance, and we still had a fantastic day meeting up with some fellow tweeters, putting faces to names and testing a variety of models. We’ll publish brief drives from last week’s event over the next few days.

Continue Reading

Volkswagen Motorsport pairing Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia finished seventh in the Acropolis Rally, the sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). Claiming six championship points and a sixth consecutive S2000 class victory, the 22 stages offered every type of surface to test man and machine: gravel-like sub-soil, as well as fast and dusty sections. Changeable weather conditions only added to the challenge. Ogier set the pace in the S2000 class, but didn’t survive the 410-kilometre rally unscathed. Changing a bent track rod, and repairing a leak in the steering system on his Škoda Fabia S2000, Ogier was pleased with his final finishing position.

‘We can be really satisfied with the result,’ says the 28-year old Frenchman who won the same rally last year in a Citroën WRC car. ‘The Acropolis is one of the most famous rallies and was hard work this year due to the changing weather. We achieved the maximum with our Fabia S2000. The rally with its long days was also a real challenge for our team and I can only thank and congratulate the crew for its performance.’

‘The Acropolis Rally is one of the real classics in the WRC and also represents the toughest test in this year’s calendar: the perfect venue to prepare for 2013 with Polo R WRC,’ explained Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. ‘Our team performed exceptionally well. The rally made huge demands of both man and machine: the drivers had to find a balance between speed and safety; at the same time a great deal of work awaited the crew during the short service breaks. We take a lot of valuable experience home which will go into the ongoing preparations for our 2013 entry.’

The Acropolis Rally wasn’t quite such a good event for fellow Fabia drivers Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene. The Norwegian duo had to retire due to damaged suspension after the 18th stage while running in tenth place. ‘On the one hand I’m very satisfied, and on the other somewhat disappointed,’ summarised the 22-year old Mikkelsen. ‘We were able to collect experience on the stages which were completely new to us and also see that we could essentially maintain the pace of our team mates. On the other hand, there is our late retirement: I misunderstood a statement for Ola and went into a corner too quickly. When I noticed I braked, but sideswiped a rock and damaged the left rear suspension,’ said the Intercontinental Rally champion.

Continue Reading

Now that the waters of the lake on which the 31st Wörthersee GTI Treffen sits have settled, the dry ice has cleared, and the Polo R WRC and Polo WRC Street stars of the Volkswagen stand have been packed into their trailers, here are three official VW-sanctioned videos of the three-day Austrian event, which manages to attract enthusiasts, tuners and the might of the mammoth Volkswagen Group itself. What surprises does 2013 hold?

Continue Reading

Volkswagen Motorsport launched the Polo R Cup 2012 last week, and with it, announced a major change to the popular one-make series. Instead of 1.6-litre 128bhp TDI Polos, the championship is switching to petrol power, with new 1.4-litre, 178bhp TSI racers. Which of course means that a 1195kg Volkswagen Polo R Cup 2012 tarmac-spec racing car is powered by the same engine as the European and South African Polo GTI 6R. And Volkswagen Motorsport has been brave with the gearbox choice, as only a seven-speed DSG unit will be offered to the young racing drivers, again, like the Polo GTI road car.

The field of 20 drivers was also announced last week, all ready to contest the six-round championship which runs from July to December. Now in its third season, the Volkswagen Polo R Cup India 2012 is still sponsored by JK Tyres, and the participants will be run in three categories: Junior, Pro, and Master. Drivers of 16 to 26 years-old and with only 8 races under their belts in a national championship will be grouped in the Junior classification, while those with 8 race finishes or more in the same age bracket will be in the Pro category. Drivers over 26 years of age make up the Master group. Prize money for the race winners is INR 50,000, INR 40,000 and INR 30,000 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.

‘After two successful seasons of the Polo R Cup, we are looking forward to this year’s championship with a brand new car. It is a strategic decision for us to shift from diesel to petrol as we want to offer our young drivers a more powerful racing machine. The Polo R Cup programme has set benchmarks in Indian motorsport by being focused on professionalism, technology and safety. It has grown stronger year-on-year and has cemented its place on the Indian motorsport map’, said Prithviraj Siddappa, Head of Motorsport, Volkswagen India Private Limited.

‘We are delighted to present the new 2012 TSI Race Polo along with the 20 promising drivers today. Volkswagen is committed to developing motorsport in India along with the young talent through our Polo R Cup programme. We had an excellent season last year and we are looking forward to the upcoming season’, Dr John Chacko, Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited, said. The first race in the 2012 championship will be under starter’s orders on 7 July at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. Other rounds will take place at MMRT, Chennai and one round of the 2012 season will be hosted at the world-class Formula 1 race track in Noida, the Buddh International Circuit (BIC).

Continue Reading

We’ve managed to get our hand on an early Polo BlueGT brochure, and it reveals a few more details about the technology-laden small hatchback, which is released for sale in Germany in July. Just to recap, the Polo BlueGT mixes near-GTI performance with near-BlueMotion levels of economy, thanks to its clever 1.4-litre 138bhp TSI engine, which features cylinder deactivation technology. Running in two-cylinder mode between torque outputs of 18-74lb ft and between 1250 and 4000rpm, Volkswagen states that the changeover is imperceptible. The Polo BlueGT gets to 62mph from rest in 7.9 seconds, while emitting just 108g/km of CO2, and with forecasts of over 60mpg on the combined cycle, it seems performance and economy can be bedfellows after all.

So, what else does the brochure tell us? Only four paint colours are available – Candy White, Silk Blue Metallic, Reflex Silver Metallic and Intense Black Pearl Effect – with only the former being standard at no extra cost. The seats are trimmed in ‘Blue Speed’ mesh-type cloth with while blue alcantara panels, and the multifunction steering wheel, gear lever gaiter and handbrake are wrapped in leather with ‘Grey Crystal’ stitching. Wheels are 17-inch ‘Montani’ silver alloys, although can be specified with an Anthracite finish at extra cost. We also hadn’t noticed how the rear spoiler is supported by two black aerodynamic fairings either side of the rear window – a neat, but subtle touch. The one thing this early preview brochure doesn’t include however is prices.

Continue Reading