Volkswagen Polo R to Bow at 2013 Geneva Motor Show
Volkswagen may have pretty much invented the sub-compact car segment in North America, and yet the brand has shown very little interest in bringing its current small car to America. That will become a serious shame next year when the German auto giant unveils a hopped-up “R” badged version of its popular hatchback.
Sized smaller than the Golf and competing in a segment against cars like the Ford Fiesta, the Volkswagen Polo R will be the most powerful car in its class with a 225-hp version of the current 2.0 TFSI 4-cylinder found in the current European GTI.
According to Volkswagen R&D chief Ulrich Hackenberg the Polo R was initially never planned to be anything more than a concept car when it was showcased at the Worthersee Tour in Austria last year. It has now been given the green light, however, to help promote the Polo’s entry into the World Rally Championship.
Set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show next March, look for numerous other suspension an interior upgrades, not to mention a mechanical limited slip differential and a 0-60 time in the 6.0 second range.
GALLERY: VW Polo R WRC Street Concept
[Source: AutoCar]
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
More by Colum Wood
Comments
Join the conversation
I find it interesting that Volkswagen wants to increase market share in the U.S. and yet consistently dumbs down vehicles before releasing them here if at all. Their attitude about the U.S. I find almost arrogant and condescending. They need to start creating market rather then waiting for it develop. They seem to think they know better than we what we want. Am I the only long time VW fan that is slowly getting turned off by corporates attitude about U.S. drivers?