PoloDriver

On the same day the sixth-generation model is launched in South Africa, today the wraps have been taken off the latest racing Volkswagen Polo which will contest the 2018 Engen Volkswagen Cup. The first circuit racing version of the all-new Polo, the 2018 Engen Volkswagen Cup car is based on the GTI model, which will arrive in South Africa later this year.

‘Push to Pass’ system
Carrying the same ‘Beware the Confidence’ tagline as the standard car’s launch materials, the Engen Volkswagen Cup GTI has a 2.0-litre, 197bhp four-cylinder turbocharged engine which produces 251lb ft / 340Nm of torque at 1 bar of boost. There is also a new ‘Push to Pass’ system which releases another 23bhp for 10 seconds, similar to that seen on the 2012 Scirocco R-Cup cars.

In a difference to the intial batch of European road cars, the 2018 Engen Volkswagen Cup Polo GTIs have a six-speed manual ‘MQ350’ gearbox, taken from the latest Golf GTI. Locally-sourced SAX shock absorbers sit suspend the standard Polo’s five-door body, while the car sits on coil springs front and rear, and rides on Dunlop semi-slick tyres.

‘Most successful racing formula’
Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa said: ‘Volkswagen Motorsport would like to thank Engen for their on-going sponsorship and commitment to what we see as South Africa’s most successful racing formula as well as the competitors who have the confidence in the series to make the change to the all-new car.’

Those 24 competitors will contest a total of eight rounds in 2018, the 22nd year the Polo-based Engen Volkswagen Cup has been run. ‘We are very excited for the start of the 2018 racing season,’ continued Mike Rowe. ‘I am sure that all the Engen Volkswagen Cup competitors are raring to go.’

‘The series, which has become known as the School of Champions, is a special one in South Africa and has crowned a total of 16 different national champions. It also an immensely competitive one as only five people have managed to win it more than once,’ he added.

GTI badge debut
The closely-fought Engen Volkswagen Cup series is a one-make series where performance is kept equal to provide entertaining motor racing. Teams are only permitted to adjust the chassis set-up and tyre pressures, while the engine power is also limited. The 2018 season sees the ‘GTI’ badge make its debut on a South African Polo Cup racer in the series’ two-decade history.

The 2018 South African circuit racing season starts on 24 March, when a comprehensive field of more than 24 young Polo drivers aged 15 to 27 line up for the start of the 2018 Engen Polo Cup at the Kyalami race track in Johannesburg.

As the series production car is gaining sales momentum in Europe and South America, Volkswagen Motorsport has confirmed the first customers for the new Polo GTI R5, based on the new sixth-generation Volkswagen Polo, launched last autumn.

Fifteen paying customers have been confirmed for the first batch of the new Polo-based rally car, which means the first run of motorsport machines is now sold out. The 272bhp, four-wheel drive rallying Polos will be delivered in the second half of the year, with both European and South American customers eagerly awaiting delivery.

Baumschlager Rallye & Racing GmbH in Austria will take three cars, headed up by Austrian rally champion Raimund Baumschlager, who won the 2017 Austrian Rally Championship with a Polo R WRC previously campaigned by four-time Polo champion Sébastien Ogier. Belgium also sees three cars head there: two for BMA and one for THX Racing.

A pair of GTI R5s will end up at Printsport Oy in Finland, while another duo will head to Italy for HK Racing. One car will go to Portugal, and previous World Rallycross hi-fliers Kristoffersson Motorsport has also ordered one GTI R5.

A trio of cars will also undergo the longest journey of cars in the initial batch: a Paraguay Volkswagen importer 11,000km away from the Volkswagen Motorsport workshops in Hanover, Miguel Carrizosa/DIESA S.A., will contest national events in the country.

‘Customer demand is enormous’
‘We are overwhelmed by the positive feedback on the new Polo GTI R5*,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets. ‘The customer demand is enormous. We are pleased about this, and it is an additional motivation to provide the teams with the best possible rally car.’

‘We assemble each car by hand in our workshop in Hanover,’ said Juliane Gründl, head of sales and distribution at Volkswagen Motorsport. ‘We are on schedule. However, we are still in the process of structuring production, and in the aftersales implementation phase. We obviously want to be ideally positioned in time for the sales launch.’

FIA regulations have determined part of the car’s make-up said Volkswagen Motorsport Technical Director François-Xavier ‘FX’ Demaison: ‘The air restrictor regulation is one of the cost-reducing measures in the R5 category, and engineers’ hands are also tied by R5 regulations in other areas. For instance, many technical components must come from a production vehicle, while standard parts are required in other areas.

‘The Polo GTI R5 uses the gearbox and four-wheel drive system of suppliers who also supply the competition. Working with our technical development colleagues in Wolfsburg and the ŠKODA motorsport staff, whose R5 vehicle has been competing since 2015, was a great help,’ elaborated Demaison.

‘The price limit is a challenge’
For 2018, the FIA-sanctioned price for an R5-category car will be €190,000. ‘The price limit is a challenge for every development department. We inevitably have to make compromises because you can’t simply choose the optimal solution in terms of performance which would probably also be the most expensive. It has to be affordable,’ explained Demaison.

‘But engineers are used to conforming with guidelines, whether they’re technical or financial. And because the R5 category is about customer motorsport, these cost containment measures make perfect sense,’ he added. Therefore, the wider wings of the Polo GTI R5 are not made from ultra-lightweight, expensive carbon fibre, but rather from affordable plastic.

Development of the latest Volkswagen Motorsport rally Polo began at the start of 2017, ahead of the launch of the sixth-generation Polo road car. Testing began in December in France, the UK, and Germany, and the plan is for the car to have its official homologation and subsequent debut on the 2018 Rally of Germany in the summer.

272bhp, 0 to 62mph in 4.1 seconds
Whereas the production Polo GTI** has a 197bhp, 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, its rallying relative is capped to 1.6 litres, but 272bhp and 295lb ft / 400Nm of torque is sent through a five-speed sequential gearbox to all four wheels for maximum grip on any surface. A weight of just 1,230kg (the Polo GTI road car tips the scales at 1,355kg) sees the new Hanover rally racer rocket to 62mph from rest in just 4.1 seconds, 2.6 seconds faster than the road car.

It all sounds very promising, and we can’t wait to see the new car in angry action. We also excitedly await the Polo GTI R5 writing the next chapter in Volkswagen’s rich rallying story.

* Polo GTI R5: the concept vehicle has not gone on sale, and therefore Directive 1999 / 94 EC does not apply.

** Polo GTI (147kW / 197bhp) fuel consumption in l/100 km: urban 7.7 / extra-urban 4.9 / combined 5.9; CO2 emissions (combined) in g/km: 134; efficiency class: C.

2017 was yet another busy year for the Volkswagen Polo. The launch and introduction of the all-new sixth-generation model has been the major news, and although there has been no Polo rally action in 2017, the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI has dominated the World Rallycross Championship in the hands of Johan Kristoffersson.

But, with a debut for the new Polo GTI R5 later in 2018, the stages look set for a Polo return to asphalt and gravel action. The Engen Volkswagen Cup in South Africa is due to run new-generation Polo GTIs, too, in 2018, so next year’s Polo motorsport activity is shaping up very nicely.

Right now, though, we round up the Polo’s biggest achievements in 2017. (Bold entries are illustrated by the picture above that particular month’s list of events.)

January

• Al-Attiyah confirms no Polo R WRC in 2017 FIA World Rally Championship
• PSRX and Volkswagen Sweden rallycross team confirmed
• Polo Sound special edition launched in Germany
• Indian-market Polo GTI wins Autocar India’s Performance Hatchback of the Year award
• Polo is the tenth best-selling car in Europe (JATO).

February

• FIA prohibits complete homologation of 2017 Volkswagen Polo R WRC
• Polo GTI 230 special edition for Switzerland
• Guy Wilks confirmed for Polo RX in 2017 World Rallycross Championship
• Polo-based VW Ameo wins Car India and Bike India’s ’Compact Sedan Of The Year’ award
• Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

March

• Citi Vivo special edition launched in South Africa
• 1,250,000th Polo production jubilee celebrated by Volkswagen South Africa
• Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI R-Line launched in South Africa
• PSRX Volkswagen Sweden reveals 2017 World Rallycross Polo GTI Supercar
• Volkswagen Motorsport announces new Polo R5 rally car testing plans
• Indian-market Polo GTI wins the Thrill of Driving Award at the Times Auto Awards
• Polo-based VW Ameo wins the Compact Sedan of the Year at the Times Auto Awards
• Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

April


• PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTIs show pace at World RX of Barcelona
• Kristoffersson drives Polo GTI Supercar to World RX of Portugal podium
• Volkswagen India launches limited edition Polo GT Sport
• Indian-market Polo GTI wins Flywheel Auto Awards’ 2017 Performance Hatchback of the Year award
• Indian-market Polo GTI wins BBC Top Gear Awards’ 2017 Hot Hatch of the Year award
• Polo is the ninth best-selling car in the UK.

May

• Fifth-generation Polo-based Volkswagen Vento Allstar and GT launched in Malaysia
• World RX of Hockenheim podium place for Kristoffersson and Polo GTI
• PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTIs dominate World RX of Belgium with double podium
• Sixth-generation Polo prototype drives and ‘sneak peek’ video published
• Solberg and Kristoffersson do the double at World RX of Great Britain
• Polo is the fifth best-selling car in the UK.

June

• Volkswagen launches sixth-generation Polo ‘teaser’ video campaign
• Johan Kristoffersson takes second 2017 World RX victory in Norway
• First images of new Polo revealed ahead of 16 June world premiere
• New sixth-generation Polo unveiled at Berlin world premiere event on 16 June
• Polo is the eighth best-selling car in the UK.

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In somewhat of a surprise reveal (although we should have seen it coming), the new Polo GTI R5 rally car was unveiled tonight in Mallorca, at the official media driving presentation of the new production Polo GTI. The new motorsport version of the sixth-generation Polo has already been out testing and has been designed to compete in the WRC2 class of the FIA World Rally Championship from the second half of 2018.

While the car seen in the official release images is a mock-up (the black-tinted windows were a trick employed at the 2011 Polo R WRC reveal to mask a non-finished interior) Resplendent in Volkswagen’s red, white and grey ‘bar and block’ livery used on to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Golf GTI last year, the GTI R5 looks ready for action, and even though it wears the five-door clothes of the production car (all sixth-generation Polos have five door openings), with its enlarged front bumper and wheel arch extensions, it looks tough in a similar way to the four-time world championship-winning Polo R WRC.

1.6 litres, 272bhp, four-wheel drive
Power has been confirmed at 272bhp, and the GTI R5 is four-wheel drive, unlike the road car, which is front-wheel drive only. But, like the road car, the GTI R5 uses a four-cylinder turbocharged engine with direct fuel injection. However, in the R5, it has a capacity of 1.6 litres – the production GTI has a 2.0-litre unit – to comply with FIA regulations.

Maximum torque is 400Nm / 295lb ft, and the power is put down through a five-speed sequential racing gearbox. A 1,320kg weight means the GTI R5 sprints to 62mph from rest in just 4.1 seconds, a whole 2.6 seconds faster than the production Polo GTI. The steel body is made in Pamplona alongside regular Polos, and is strengthened with a roll cage and a first-class safety package. Development of the new Volkswagen rally challenger was helped by the know-how from the Polo R WRC programme, which resulted in a car which dominated top-flight rallying from 2013-2016.

Work on the Polo GTI R5 started at the beginning of 2017, with initial tests in mid-November on asphalt and gravel tracks at Fontjoncouse, France. Great Britain is next on the GTI R5 testing list, with time scheduled in for later this month. Volkswagen Motorsport Technical Director François-Xavier ‘FX’ Demaison and Project Manager Jan de Jongh are taking the reins for the GTI R5 programme. There’s no doubt the GTI R5 is in experienced hands: Jongh, as race engineer, cared for world champion Sébastien Ogier’s Polo R WRC.

‘A magnificent moment’
‘The Polo GTI R5 came through the initial tests without any problems. The feedback from the test drivers was very positive,’ said Demaison. ‘It is obviously beneficial to call upon an experienced team of engineers and mechanics, who helped to develop the Polo that won the world rally championship. And it goes without saying that, as we have in the past, we are also taking advantage of the close and excellent cooperation with the colleagues in the technical development department in Wolfsburg, as well as our Škoda colleagues, who have been offering their customers an R5 car since 2015,’ he continued.

‘Presenting the new VW Polo GTI R5 to the public was a magnificent moment,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets. ‘The close relationship to the road-going Polo GTI is unmistakable. In the rally Polo, the GTI family has another spectacular ambassador. Our team and our colleagues at Volkswagen Design in Wolfsburg deserve credit for this. Over the coming months, the Polo GTI R5 must prove itself in a series of tough scenarios, in order to ensure that it can build on the success of its predecessor in customers’ hands.’

Homologation and debut in 2018
Homologation of the new Hanover motorsport machine will take place next summer, before the first cars are delivered to customer sports teams. The first time the GTI R5 will turn a wheel in competitive anger is likely to be the autumn. The FIA’s R5 regulations first applied in 2012, and cover rally cars aimed at customer teams, privateers and young drivers. Over 400 cars have since been built by five manufacturers for competition in national and international series all over the world.

The new Polo GTI meanwhile, is available for pre-sale ordering in Germany from 5 December 2017, and is priced from 23,875 euros. Powered by a 2.0-litre TSI engine with 197bhp, standard sport running gear features on the latest member of the GTI family, and buyers have a choice of optional Sport Select running gear, too. A six-speed DSG gearbox will be standard initially, with a six-speed manual to follow. UK availability is yet to be revealed, but we’re already excited!

And whether the Polo GTI R5 will continue the success of the Polo R WRC we’ve yet to find out. The coming months will answer some initial questions, but with a championship-winning and hugely successful team as well as proven ingredients behind it, we expect it to be a major WRC2 player at least…

The latest Polo rally car has officially broken cover, and has undergone its first testing session in France. The 2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 was driven by Volkswagen Motorsport test driver Dieter Depping and Swedish World Rally Champion pilot Pontus Tidemand around a 3.85km asphalt route in Fontjoncouse.

Based on the new sixth-generation Polo, the Polo GTI R5’s brakes, cooling system, engine and tyres were all tested for durability on the dry asphalt surface. Testing then moved to gravel tracks to further push the chassis and suspension. The testing location was familiar to rally Polos, as the venue was where the first Polo R WRC tests took place in 2011. The recipe was honed from then on: Volkswagen Motorsport’s all-conquering car went on to win four consecutive World Rally Championship titles from 2013 to 2016.

‘A special feeling’
Depping was the test driver of that original Polo R WRC, too: ‘It is a special feeling to be back here, where the Polo embarked on its first rally adventure roughly six years ago,’ he said. ‘It is now about achieving the best possible set-up for the new Polo GTI R5. This first test was primarily about getting a lot of kilometres under our belt, in order to give the engineers as much data as possible. I can tell you one thing now: The R5 Polo is also very good, very quick and precise. I immediately felt right at home!” he added.

‘A successful first test is a good sign and great motivation,’ commented a pleased Sven Smeets, Volkswagen Motorsport Director. ‘After the many hours and weeks spent working on our latest customer racing project on the computer, in both the design process and the workshop, the Polo GTI R5 can now finally show what it is capable of, and we can gain valuable data for the further development of the car.’

Three-day test
The three-day testing programme marked the start of the punishing development regime for the latest 270bhp four-wheel-drive rally Polo, which will be sold to professional customer teams and drivers to compete in national, global and the WRC2 class of the FIA World Rally Championship from the second half of 2018.