PoloDriver

Debuting online on Friday evening, the new Volkswagen UK commercial for the Polo revives the familiar ‘Small but tough’ tagline from 2004, and chronicles the early life of a young girl. Volkswagen UK says that the 90-second spot ‘shows the evolving relationship of a protective father and his daughter, from the moment he first brings her home from hospital to the day she finally leaves home, when he hands her the keys to a shiny new Polo – ensuring she “stays in safe hands.”’ Soundtracked by Sniffy Dog’s ‘Whispers and Stories’, the ad seems to have gone down well – we particularly like the Mk 2 Polo coupé which appears at the very beginning of the commercial. Let Volkswagen UK know what you think of the ad on its Facebook page, and visit the company’s website to find out more information on the Polo itself.

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The Volkswagen Polo R WRC rally car will appear at the 31st GTI Festival in Reifnitz, Wörthersee, Austria, this coming weekend, 16-19 May. Continuing the tradition set by the Scirocco GT24 and the Golf24 endurance racers which were also presented at Wörthersee, the Polo R WRC will be admired by more than 100,000 visitors to the three-day event. After the Polo R WRC’s appearance in Austria, the Volkswagen Motorsport team will head to Greece for the Greek round of the 2012 World Rally Championship on 25-27 May. Once again, two Škoda Fabia S2000s will be fielded, this time driven by the pairings of Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia and Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene.

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Sneaking in under the radar yesterday, is this, the latest special edition Polo, the CrossPolo ‘Urban White’. Announced late in the day on Friday, the ‘Urban White’ takes the familiar CrossPolo body and embellishes it with coloured trim and interior finishes. Pearlescent white paintwork – a CrossPolo first – contrasts well with black roof rails and mirrors, and the regular 17-inch ‘Budapest’ five-spoke alloys can be specified with either black or white spoke centres. A silver-strip ‘Urban White’ badge similar to that on BlueMotion models sits on the CrossPolo ‘Urban White’s tailgate.

Inside, there’s a GTI-style black headlining, black and pale grey cloth/Alcantara sports seats, climate control, cruise control, and silver dashboard inserts around the centre console and gear lever, another Polo debut. Although the CrossPolo ‘Urban White’ looks rough and tumble, it is still resolutely two-wheel-drive, and can be had with four petrol and three diesel engines, from 69bhp to 104bhp, with five or six-speed transmissions. A seven-speed DSG gearbox can be optioned, too. What price style? The CrossPolo ‘Urban White’ starts at €18,975 for the 69bhp entry-level model.

[Source: German Car Scene]

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Announced at the end of March, ex-Ford Special Vehicle Team supremo Jost Capito has now officially become a member of the Volkswagen Motorsport team, taking up his post as Motorsport Director. Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Brand for Development, welcomed the 53-year-old Capito on Wednesday. At the same time he thanked outgoing Motorsport Director Kris Nissen, who has lead VW’s motorsport division to, among other victories, three consecutive Dakar Rally wins. Nissen will be supporting Volkswagen Motorsport in an advisory role.

Hackenberg commented: ‘I cordially welcome Jost Capito to our ranks as new Motorsport Director. I wish him and the team a lot of success. I view the transfer of Kris Nissen’s role to Jost Capito like the handover of a relay race baton. This process is taking place place hand in hand, and aims to accelerate afterwards. My personal thanks go to Kris Nissen – he has moulded the squad into a winning team over the past years.’

‘I’m very much looking forward to working together with this strong team and have a lot of respect for the successes that have been achieved so far. My first impression is that the squad is working with great enthusiasm, and big and interesting tasks are awaiting all of us and we will tackle them with high motivation. My thanks also go to Kris Nissen, who has done very good preparatory work and who will continue to play a part in this endeavour in order to assure a harmonious handover,’ said Jost Capito.

Capito joins Volkswagen Motorsport at an exciting time. The division is gearing up for a full-scale assault next year on the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with the new Polo R WRC rally car, and has commitments in touring car racing with the Volkswagen Scirocco R Cup, which supports rounds of the German DTM championship. In addition, there are also numerous one-make global series in which Volkswagen is involved, such as the Volkswagen Polo Cup India and Engen Volkswagen Cup.

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In its latest batch of historic motorsport titles, motorsport-dvd.de has released a round of the 1980s Volkswagen Polo Cup on DVD. Original uncut footage courtesy of MCN Nuremberg, sees thrilling overtaking moves and numerous position battles, complete with the 28 year-old, 1984 soundtrack. The 65-minute, German-language DVD retails at €16,80 plus postage. Taken from original VHS, S8, and 16mm media, the ‘Uncut’ range is, according to the company’s website, a series of DVDs from the ‘good old days’ of motorsport. motorsport-dvd.de specialises in DVDs with footage and races from the ‘80s and ‘90s from the DRM German Racing Championship and the ‘old’ DTM German Touring Car Championship. Other original Polo Cup races available on DVD include rounds from the Nürburgring in 1987, and the Norisring in 1988.

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