To commemorate its tenth anniversary, Volkswagen
Motorsport India has revealed a bespoke Winter Project Car that is based on the
Polo. The new model has been developed entirely by the factory team and will be
put up on sale for track day purposes. Dubbed Polo RX, the one-off build
features a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive (RR) format.
It is said that Volkswagen Motorsport readied the
Polo RX during its 'winter break', which is why its latest track-only model is
being touted as a 'winter project car'. VW says its motorsport team decided to
come up with a new Polo-based track tool as it was 'something different,
special and completely out of the box'. The Polo-based Winter Project Car from
Volkswagen Motorsport is powered by a 1.8-litre TSI engine that has been
sourced from the Ameo Cup car. While this engine can develop a maximum power of
250 bhp, it has been restricted to 210 bhp to achieve an optimum balance
between outright power and reliability. The motor comes mated to a sequential
gearbox with paddle shifters.
The major challenge that the team at Volkswagen
Motorsport faced with the development of the RX was to create the right mounts
for the engine, gearbox, and the suspension at the rear. The
turbocharged motor's intercooler has been placed underneath the rear seats, and
the team had to design carefully positioned air ducts to maintain the correct
airflow to the rear-mounted engine.
Furthermore, the fuel tank had to be moved to the
front as the intercooler was relocated to the former's space. The team even had
to design an entirely new wiring harness routing and rework the suspension to
handle the shift of the engine to the rear. The Polo RX Winter Project Car
cannot participate in official Volkswagen Motorsport races as of now. That
said, the team could make small changes to the new model to help it adapt to
the standards required to be met for participation in various forms of
motorsports such as autocross, circuit racing or rallying.
