It’s coming – four-wheel drive super-Polo R confirmed for production!
On-off. On-off. It’s long been rumoured, but now – at last! – a four-wheel drive super-Polo might just about to become a reality. Volkswagen held a driving event for the forthcoming 296bhp four-wheel drive Golf R this week and, it would appear, sneaked in a couple of Polo R prototypes.
Journalists were given the chance to take them for a spin around a Swedish frozen lake. We saw the first drive on Autocar, where the 250bhp Polo was described as ‘composed, controllable and hugely entertaining’. At last!
Exact details are to be confirmed, but the Polo R is touted to put out al least 250bhp from it’s 2.0-litre TSI engine. The four-wheel drive Audi S1 is believed to have settled the business case which so far the car has lacked. Both share chassis and therefore the four-wheel drive system which, for the Polo, has necessitated a new multi-link rear suspension arrangement.
Autocar states that performance is more than brisk, with 62mph coming up in around six seconds. The black and white prototypes which have been pictured were running a six-speed DSG gearbox (and winter tyres on smaller alloy wheels).
With the Audi S1 believed to be unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March, it’s possible the Polo R could be rushed through once evaluation has been completed to debut at the same event. A facelifted model of the Volkswagen supermini is also rumoured to be making an appearance in Switzerland.
Very different mechanically to the 2500 front-wheel drive Polo R WRC road cars (front-wheel drive, 217bhp, six-speed manual) launched to make the Polo R WRC rally eligible for the World Rally Championship, the Polo R could make a real halo car for the almost-40 year-old sub-brand and become the great handling, super-quick super-Polo we’ve only ever dared dreamed of before.
