If an automobile ever broke the internet, it might be this. And we got a risk to stand up close and personal with India’s first (mid) rear-engined, rear-wheel drive Volkswagen Polo. It’s were given the 1. Eight-litre TSI rapid from the Ameo Cup vehicle, rated at 205PS and 320Nm torque on the wheels, and a six-velocity sequential gearbox from 3MO. But what makes it extreme is that it contains its engine in a place typically reserved for the most exceptional of supercars. It wasn’t built with the aid of some boutique in Europe both, it was built by using the VW Motorsport India crew in Pune!
Sirish Visa, head of VW Motorsport, says, “We’re searching on the Customer Sport music cars as an alternative for clients walking their supercars on the tune. The charges can quickly spiral, what with the supercars needing a provider, brake, tires etc each few music days. With something like the Polo RX, you get all the amusing you want at a fragment of the charge.”
This ‘winter challenge’, as they’re calling it, was constructed inside the scraps of spare time among the near of final year’s season, and getting ready for the following. “I’ve built this vehicle in my head approximately 15 times earlier than we were given down to building it for real,” Sirish comments, and that without the meticulous making plans, engineering and measuring completed before even touching the metallic, the construct would’ve taken a ways, some distance longer than the stunning 10 days that it did. Turning a the front-engined, front-wheel pressure hatchback into this isn’t always as clean as taking the engine and plonking it into the returned.
Starting with an Ameo Cup vehicle, essentially the complete engine becomes cut out from under the hood, apron, sub-frame and all. And then welded well into the gap that might’ve been taken up by using the rear seats. To be capable of doing this, the group had to regulate pretty plenty the whole lot from the B-pillar lower back. The entire floor plan at the rear was cut out, and the suspension mounting points had to be moved similarly lower back, to be able to match the 1.8-liter turbocharged engine and sequential gearbox as is, even the driveshafts failed to want any change. The gas tank turned into removed and changed by means of a gas cell, sitting below the hood just ahead of the front axle. The intercooler is positioned low, almost below floor degree and is fed air from the bottom of the automobile, way to a touch plate that allows direct a few air float to it. To pinnacle matters off, actually, the Polo’s shell was delivered.
Calling the Polo RX rear-engined isn’t absolutely correct, although. The engine surely sits just ahead of the rear axle, making this Polo even greater ideal, when you consider that it’s mid-engined. Desirable because, whilst the Polo Cup car had a front-to-rear weight balance of 65:35, this monster is a way in the direction of impartial, with a forty-five: fifty-five balance. Luckily, the fuel mobile only holds around 25-30 liters of gasoline, so the weight stability would not alternate too appreciably closer to the end of a song day consultation.
We had been definitely itching to get at the back of the wheel of the Polo RX while we first walked as much as it in the pit lane at MMRT. Then, we got to enjoy it from the passenger seat And looking VW Motorsport’s resident test driver Karthik Tharani struggle the little Polo around, quickly helped us recognize the Polo RX isn’t always for amateurs. It’s a severe little racecar, notwithstanding the extensive grins we had when we climbed out of it. It might also just be the maximum serious VW Motorsport has ever created. It’s hotter and louder in there than any of the others, due to the fact all that sits among you and the engine is a slice of steel and a foot-and-a-half of air. It’s additionally inherently snappier, wanting sharp reflexes to seize. With more weight on the rear, it desires to change ends in case you bring too much speed into a corner. And with all that torque going to the rear wheels, it wants to do it again in case you get an excessive amount of at the throttle getting out of a nook. As it stands, it is like a definitely frustrated pass-kart. But the best news is that on just the second day of testing and with minor setup adjustments, we’re advised it was getting simpler and more rewarding to walk that tight rope.
And it is the mark of a great automobile. One that scares you, but also brings the widest grin for your face. VW Motorsport estimates it’ll cost approximately Rs 60 lakh to own one, on this spec. They may even construct you one with a -liter engine with up to 350PS, or one with a stick-shift gearbox, in case you’re masochistic enough. Lucky for VW Motorsport, a mid-engine, rear-wheel pressure Polo is certainly more distinctive, and faster than whatever else in that fee variety. Now, if only we should power one home.
For the beyond a month, our Renault Captur lengthy-termer has been equipped with an automobile monitoring tool from Lets track. Our unit, the Lets track Premium, comes with a host of capabilities that allow you to recognize what’s occurring together with your vehicle whilst you are not in it. These functions are accessed through an app via which you can sing the car’s movement in real-time, ship emergency messages and also manage some of the automobile’s features over the air. Users can also create zones so as to permit an app consumer to recognize while their vehicle has crossed these limits. The app receives Google maps aid and also can be used for navigation, however with these brought functions.
