According to a report from Autocar, Volkswagen is set to produce a high-performance R variant of the Polo subcompact. A business case for the car was reportedly easy to make following the development of its sister car, the Audi S1.
Further motivating VW to build the hot Polo R was the massive success of Polo R WRC car piloted by Sebastien Ogier, which won the championship in its first full year of competition.
It’s widely expected that the Polo R, which will slot above the Polo GTI model, will share its underpinnings with the Audi S1 and use VW’s 2.0-liter turbo-charged four-cylinder engine mated to a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission sending power to all four wheels via VW’s 4Motion all-wheel drive system. The powertrain combination is expected to make somewhere in the vicinity of 220-250 horsepower, which is enough to be able to propel the subcompact hatch from zer to60 MPH in under six seconds to an electronically-limited top speed of 155 MPH. Other features include a multi-link suspension system in the rear will take place of the torsion beam setup in the standard Polo.
Autocar believes that VW could debut the Polo R at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show in March alongside a facelifted version of the standard Polo. The high-performance variant is expected to be available in select markets around the world, but North America isn’t likely to be one of them until Volkswagen decides to make the Polo and Polo GTI available in the region. Here’s to hoping that will be sometime soon.
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