PoloDriver

The fifth-generation Volkswagen Polo enjoyed huge success in motorsport, not only winning the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) four consecutive times from 2013-2016, but also taking the spoils in the frenetic and punishing World Rallycross series, too.

Driven by Johan Kristoffersson and three-time FIA world champion and WRC legend Petter Solberg among others, it’s been five years since the Polo graced the top level of rallycross with Solberg behind the wheel. But on the weekend of 4-7 May, the Norwegian driver and hillclimb star will be reunited with the 570bhp Polo R WRX at the 2023 Simola Hillclimb in South Africa.

Most successful modern rallycross car
Plucked from his retirement and driving for Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa, Solberg will be piloting the fire-spitting machine which Kristoffersson drove to victory in 2017. With a pair of drivers’ titles and two team FIA World Championship wins, the Polo R WRX Supercar could just be the most successful race car of the modern rallycross era.

Developed from the Polo R WRC rally car but more of a ‘silhouette’ racer, the Polo R WRX Supercar’s standout features include engine cooling with an emphasis on aerodynamics, making it far more efficient. The rear wing of the Polo R WRX creates more downforce and allows a wide range of set-up options. Powered by a four-cylinder engine with a massive 570bhp (419kW), peak torque of 650Nm (479lb ft) is developed at 5,000rpm. Power is put down using a six-speed sequential racing gearbox, and it takes just 1.9 seconds to complete the 0-62mph sprint.

‘Polo R WRX Supercar from the museum’
‘The guys at Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa are so professional,’ said an excited Solberg. ‘They agreed for me to come and drive at the Simola Hillclimb event, and then agreed to bring the Polo R WRX Supercar from the museum in Wolfsburg. This is the proper way of doing things – I like it!’ he continues.

‘Can I win? Let’s see. They told me the winner’s average speed last year was 200km/h (124mph) – my car will only do 200km/h! You know me, I will try. We will push and see what is possible. One thing is certain, it’s going to be fantastic to be back with this car again. I have such good memories of the Polo R WRX Supercar. We ran these cars for me and Johan, with our family team (PSRX Volkswagen Sweden) winning all the titles through 2017 and 2018. Good times,” reflects Solberg.

‘We are very excited to announce that Petter Solberg will be making his way to South Africa to race in the Polo R WRX Supercar,’ said Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa. ‘Solberg’s partnership with VW goes back to 2017 when he set up PSRX Volkswagen Sweden with factory works support from Volkswagen Motorsport and we are thrilled to have brought Petter back to race for us in South Africa,’ Rowe continues.

Volkswagen Polo SupaCup
Alongside Solberg, seasoned racer Graeme Nathan will also be representing Volkswagen in a Polo SupaCup car, a 308bhp racer built specifically for South Africa’s GTC SupaCup support series. The 2.0-litre turbocharged ‘EA888’ four-cylinder engine has 420Nm of torque, and as Nathan and the SupaCup Polo came second in the Class B2 finals in one of the closest margins – 0.016 seconds – in the history of the Simola Hillclimb in 2022, he will certainly be up for the fight in 2023.

Joining Nathan’s and Solberg’s Polos will be an eighth-generation Golf R, driven by Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa drivers Jonathan Mogotsi and Daniel Rowe. Solberg’s rallycross-driving brother Henning will also compete on the 1.18-mile (1.9-kilometre) hill in Knysna, Western Cape.

Four-time FIA World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson is returning to the series in 2022, with his sights set on a fifth Drivers’ prize. Three of those four series wins were at the wheel of a Polo RX, and the 33-year-old has confirmed that for 2022, he will be back in a Volkswagen. So, will it be a Polo?

Kristoffersson’s association with the rallycross Polo is legendary, so we can only hope that as the fire-breathing cars in the top-tier series are based on small hatches, there’s a good chance a Polo could make an RX return. But, what we do know is that if Kristoffersson’s machine does have ‘POLO’ on its backside, it won’t be like any other Polo, because it will be electric.

Electric powertrain
Yes, that’s right. Kristoffersson Motorsport (KMS) is fielding three Volkswagens in the World RX’s inaugural electric campaign. Alongside Kristoffersson will be two team-mates, and underpinning the cars will be the Kreisel Electric-developed RX1e electric powertrain. With a pair of motors, up to 500kW – equivalent to 680bhp – and 880Nm of torque available instantly will mean the cars will have acceleration faster than an Formula 1 car.

The idea of an electric motorsport isn’t so outlandish. Baumschlager Rallye & Racing GmbH has been event testing Kreisel’s similar RX-E1 electric drivetrain in rally situations, using a Skoda Motorsport-prepared Fabia, so the concept isn’t new – and the Fabia is a Volkswagen Group product – but it will be interesting to see the technology into another discipline. Ideally suited to RX because of its short spring race format, Kristoffersson is energised by the move to electric. As in 2020, KMS will run under the Volkswagen Dealerteam BAUHAUS banner.

‘Really inspiring’
‘It’s really inspiring to be part of rallycross’ new electric era right from the outset,’ he stated. ‘The last time we undertook a project on a scale of this kind was in 2014, when we built our own cars for the first season of the World Rallycross Championship. The big difference is that back then, I was completely inexperienced in rallycross – whereas things are a little different now..

‘There are a lot of unknowns when everything is so new. In recent years, we have all followed proven concepts, so the development steps have been comparatively small – but there is much greater potential with these new cars,’ Kristoffersson continued. ‘Electric is the future for both motorsport and the automotive industry in general, and helping to drive that development is, for me, one of the most fascinating aspects of the sport. I expect an incredibly tough, competitive season ahead, and I’m excited to get started!’

‘Wealth of knowledge’
‘This will be the largest project in KMS’ history,’ said Tommy Kristoffersson, team manager of Kristoffersson Motorsport. ‘A small family business building and developing three new cars in accordance with a new concept clearly comes with great personal responsibility, but we can rely upon a team of extremely skilled individuals, and a wealth of knowledge and experience from Germany and within our own workshop in Arvika.’

‘Johan Kristoffersson is one of the biggest motorsport names Sweden has ever known,’ stated Sten Forsberg, CEO, Volkswagen Sweden. ‘Four FIA World Rallycross Championship titles is an outstanding accomplishment, and we wish him all the best now that he is taking the step into the sport’s new electric era – most importantly, with a Volkswagen emblem on the front of his car.’

The action will get underway at the Swedish rallycross track Höljes on 2-3 July, but details of the car itself and the remaining pair of drivers are expected to be announced soon. We’re keeping everything crossed for a Polo-shaped return to the premier rallycross series, and an exciting step into its possible electric future…

2021 was a busy year for the Volkswagen Polo. Celebrating the model’s 46th anniversary, the refreshed sixth-generation car was unveiled and arrived in the UK towards the end of the year. The second-generation Polo commemorated the 40th year since its debut in the autumn of 1981.

The Polo Harlekin (Harlequin) marked its 25th birthday in 2021, and more teams took the Polo GTI R5 rally car on global stages. New models were launched in Germany, India and the UK, and the Polo’s popularity remained strong, its sales in selected markets remaining high.

Below, we round up the Polo’s biggest achievements in 2021. (Bold entries are illustrated by the picture above that particular month’s list of events.)

January

• Niclas Grönholm and Polo GTI R5 finish sixth at the 2021 Arctic Lapland Rally
• Polo Vivo crowned 2020’s most popular car in South Africa, selling 19,750 units from Volkswagen’s total sales of 53,319 units, giving the company an all-time local market share of 21.6 per cent
• Volkswagen Netherlands creates a new version of the Polo Harlequin to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original model
• Nikolay Gryzin takes his Polo GTI R5 to fifth place in the RC2 class at the 2021 Rallye Monte-Carlo
• Polo GTI R5 of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel wins 2021 Qatar International Rally, their 15th victory at the event
• Polo Active special edition launches in Germany.

February

• Victory for the Larsen Motorsport Polo GTI R5 of Frank Tore Larsen and Morten Abrahamsen at the 2021 Lygnasprinten (image: Larsen Motorsport)
• The Polo GTI R5 of Egon Kaur and Silver Simm takes first place in the Rally2 class at the 2021 Otepää Rally. Georg Linnamäe and Volodymyr Korsia’s Polo GTI R5 finish second.

March

• 108bhp Polo Matt Edition 1.0 TSI launches in India: special features include matt grey paint, gloss black door mirror caps and rear spoiler, cruise control, multifunction steering wheel and a colour touchscreen infotainment system
• Polo GTI R5s take first and second places at the East Safari Rally with 10 out of 10 stage wins. Reigning champions Simos Galatariotis and Antonis loannou finish first ahead of Alexandros Tsouloftas and Stelios Elia
• Luca Pedersoli and Anna Tomas win Rally del Bardolino in their Polo GTI R5 – their maiden outing in the car
• First victory for Marco Signor and Francesco Pezzoli in their Polo GTI R5 at the Rally Ronde del Canavese
• Another debut win, this time for the Polo GTI R5 of Francisco Dorado and Roi Torrente at the 2021 Rallysprint de Valdelaguna
• Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov are victorious with their Polo GTI R5 at Valasská Rally ValMez
• Jurie Swart wins both races at the opening round of the 2021 Volkswagen Polo Cup in Cape Town, South Africa – the 2021 season celebrates the 25th anniversary of the one-make series. In the first round of the 2021 GTC SupaCup series, Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa Polo SupaCup driver Jonathan Mogotsi finishes second.

April

• Polo Active joins UK model range
• Refreshed MY22 Polo revealed in digital online premiere featuring more digital technology and updated looks
• Sixth-generation Polo evaluated for possible Indian launch on MQB A0 IN platform
• Carl Flash Tundo and Tim Jessop win the FIA African Rally Championship Equator Rally Kenya in their Polo GTI R5
• Kristian Poulsen and Ole R Fredriksen win Rally Himmerland, round one of the Danish Rally Championship – the second victory for Polo GTI R5 chassis #44 in Denmark
• First place for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel’s Polo GTI R5 at Rallye Tierras Altas de Lorca
• Tomasz Kasperczyk and Damian Syty win the 2021 Tech-Mol Rally in their Polo GTI R5. Zbigniew Gabrys and Krzysztof Janik’s Polo GTI R5 also finishes on the podium at the first rally of the year in Poland.

May

• MY22 Polo GTI revealed in official Volkswagen design sketch
• Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel win the Jordan Rally in a Polo GTI R5 – their ninth overall victory in the Volkswagen rally car
• 1-2 for the Polo GTI R5 at the Larnaca Rally – Alexandros Tsouloftas and Stelios Elia win the event, followed by Simos Galatariotis and Antonis loannou
• Jurie Stewart and Arnold Neveling victorious in the Volkswagen Polo Cup races held at Aldo Scribante, near Gqeberha. Jonathan Mogotsi drives his Polo SupaCup to a maiden win during the GTC SupaCup race
• Volkswagen Polo named the third most popular car in the UK during May 2021.

June

• The Polo GTI R5s of Osian Pryce and Noel O’Sullivan and reigning champions Matt Edwards and Darren Garrod debut at first round of the 2021 British Rally Championship at Oulton Park
• 1-2 for the Polo GTI R5 at the Super Prime Alpasa rally in Paraguay. Miguel Zaldivar Jr and Victor Aguilera finish first, followed by Diego Dominguez Sr and Edgardo Galindo
• 2022 Volkswagen Polo order books open in Germany
• Refreshed MY22 Polo GTI revealed with updated looks, DSG and 204bhp
• Frank Tore Larsen and Morten Abrahamsen steer their Polo GTI R5 to victory at the 2021 Aurskog-Holand Rally
• Volkswagen Polo named the sixth most popular car in the UK during June 2021
• With 11,560 cars finding homes in the first six months of the year, the Polo Vivo remains the most popular new car in South Africa. In second place, the sixth-generation Polo sells 9,045 examples.

July

• RacingLine releases Polo GTI ‘AW’ sport springs and turbo muffler delete products
• Volkswagen Polo crowned the UK’s most popular car, based on official registration figures, finishing ahead of the Toyota Yaris and Kia Sportage.

August

• The second-generation Polo celebrates four decades since it was launched to the press in Sardinia
• Jurie Stewart, Arnold Neveling, and Leyton Fourie win one Volkswagen Polo Cup race each at the East London Grand Prix circuit.

September

• The new MY22 Polo goes on sale in the UK, priced from £17,885 to £23,355
• Polo Trendline MPI, Comfortline TSI, Highline Plus TSI manual, and Highline Plus TSI and GT TSI automatic models demand a five-month waiting list in India, along with the Polo saloon-based Vento Highline TSI manual
• Sixteen-year-old Leyton Fourie claims both South African Volkswagen Polo Cup wins at the Red Star Raceway.

October

• Jurie Stewart wins Volkswagen Polo Cup South Africa races at Zwartops Raceway.

November

• MY22 Polo GTI joins the UK model range with a starting price of £26,430
• Polo Vivo Black Style launches in South Africa. Special equipment includes black 16-inch ‘Portago’ alloy wheels, gloss black mirror caps, roof and B and C pillar covers, black sill covers, a body-coloured boot spoiler, privacy glass, a chrome exhaust tip as well as anthracite headlining and sun visors
• Autocar publishes its first UK drive of the new MY22 Polo.

December

• What Car? long lists Polo as a Car of the Year Awards 2022 small car entrant
• Auto Express, Carbuyer and What Car? publish the first UK drives of the new MY22 Polo
• MY22 Polo announced for sale in South Africa from January 2022
• 2022 Volkswagen Polo Cup unveils CompCare Medical Scheme as sponsor; Jurie Stewart wins Killarney races at final round of 2021 series, but Leyton Fourie crowned 2021 Volkswagen Polo Cup champion
• South African Volkswagen Polo GTC SupaCup tested during Killarney 9-Hour race ready for 2022 season
• A panel of broadcasters, car designers, engineers, motorsport legends and auto industry journalists and media professionals announces MY22 Polo as one of the Best Cars of the Year 2021/2022 award winners in tenth place.

As another year passes, we would like to thank our readers and followers old and new, and we’ve got lots more stories and features coming to the website in 2022.

[Click on the ‘Polo 2017-’, ‘Polo Vivo’, ‘Polo GTI R5’ and ‘Motorsport’ tags in the category drop-down list in the right-hand sidebar to see all entries relating to the sixth-generation Polo, Polo GTI R5, and Polo motorsport activity respectively. Choose other category or month sections for relevant entries.]

Hot in the tyre tracks of Niclas Grönholm and Antto Linnaketo’s sixth place at the 2021 Arctic Lapland Rally, Nikolay Gryazin and his co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov took their Polo GTI R5 to fifth place in the RC2 class at the 2021 Rallye Monte-Carlo. The Russian duo’s strikingly liveried Movisport SRL Polo also clocked up the quickest RC2 time on the Power Stage at the 21-24 January event.

By the close of day one, the pair were third in RC2, but dropped a couple of places after day two’s 12 stages. In the overall results, Gryazin and Aleksandrov’s Polo was the highest-placed GTI R5, in 12th place. Three other versions of the 272bhp four-wheel drive rallying Polo were also to be found on the ‘Monte’ stages. Ex-Škoda and Volkswagen driver Kevin Abbring and co-driver Pieter Tsjoen’s number 26 car finished 12th in RC2 and 20th overall.

At the 89th ‘Monte’, the #52 machine of Olivier Burri and Anderson Levratti scored 10th in RC2 and 18th overall, and the number 60 GTI R5 of Philippe and Christophe Roux crossed the RC2 line 26th. The Swiss pair finished 46th in the overall rankings.

[Image: Volkswagen Motorsport]

Volkswagen Motorsport may have closed its doors, but the rally monster that is the Polo GTI R5 can still be seen out on the stages. At least 15 of the 272bhp four-wheel drive rally machines were made before the end of 2018, its debut year, and the rally GTI has tasted victory in the hands of famous names, including Oliver Solberg, son of world champion Petter Solberg.

Another celebrated rallying name is now associated with the GTI R5. Niclas Grönholm, son of two-time WRC title holder and former Volkswagen test driver Marcus Grönholm took the wheel of a MRF-tyred Polo for the 2021 Arctic Lapland Rally. The Finnish event ran from 15-16 January and Grönholm’s ALM Motorsport-prepared car came home in tenth place overall at the end of the seven-stage event. The result puts the young Finnish rallycross driver and his co-pilot Antti Linnaketo sixth in the 2021 Finnish Rally Championship.

‘Very challenging’
‘It was great to have two cars wearing MRF Tyres inside the top 10. The stages were in good condition, but there was a lot of loose snow, and it was very challenging,’ reported Grönholm.

Other Arctic Lapland Rally Polo GTI R5 runners included the pairings of Egon Kaur and Silver Simm for Kaur Motorsport; Georg Linnamäe and Tanel Kasesalu in another ALM Motorsport car; and Jussi Keskiniva and Mikko Kaikkonen in a Printsport-liveried Polo. Keskiniva finished 18th overall, with Linnamäe 21st and Kaur 30th. The 2021 event isn’t the first at which Polo GTI R5s have been seen in action: in 2019, Emil Lindholm and Mikael Korhonen helmed their small VW to victory.

There is more Polo GTI R5 action next weekend, as four cars are scheduled to take part in the 2021 running of the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo.

[Images: MRF Tyres / Volkswagen Motorsport]