PoloDriver

Don’t be fooled by the stories this week about the possibility of a 1.6-litre turbocharged 210bhp Polo R. The UK’s Autocar and Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport have both been sources of speculative ‘are they, aren’t they’ stories this week regarding a possible hardcore Polo. And that’s just they are: speculation. We’ve been onto the Volkswagen UK press office today, and they’ve told us: ‘The news of a Polo R is speculation – we have no plans to build an R model of the Polo.’ So it’s official: a Polo R still isn’t on the cards.

The R’s possible arrival has been one of the most hotly-debated and popular Polo forum and internet topics for months. We doubted that the R was coming at all – the GTI is due to hit the UK in August, and with prices starting at £18,275 for the three-door 178bhp car, an expensive R version would surely be a very niche-market product. Saying that, with reports stating that the allocation for the £30,300 Golf R has sold out, there is obviously a market for super-hot über-hatches.

Edit, 22 May 2010: senior officials at Volkswagen in Germany have now also confirmed that there will be no Polo R, partly in order to protect the Audi S1, which will have the same 1.4-litre, 178bhp TSI engine as the 2010 Polo GTI.

Are you disappointed that Volkswagen have said ‘no’ to building a Polo R? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.