PoloDriver

Day-to-day life has changed immeasurably under the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and motorsport has seen a continual cancellation or postponement of events, with calendars notably shortened. No clear indication of when races will restart has left fans and drivers in limbo, but there are signs of a slow resurgence. Oliver Solberg, son of 2003 World Rally Champion Petter, won the maiden Rally Sweden Lockdown event, held in the afternoon of Sunday 7 June.

Co-driven by his mum Pernilla, 18-year-old Solberg Junior placed his Polo GTI R5 first ahead of some of the biggest names in Swedish motorsport at the Torsby-based event, the first real-life outing for the youngster and his VW since Rally Mexico back in March. The Torsby Sprint test – made famous because of its use at the end of Rally Sweden’s Power Stage – event was streamed live by broadcaster SVT1 with additional footage on WRC+.

Stringent regulations
Run under some of the most stringent regulations ever, with social distancing and coronavirus awareness at the forefront of everybody’s minds, the event was praised by officials for getting the sport up and running again. To keep everyone safe, the event was run behind ‘closed doors’ with no spectators permitted.

Young Solberg edged ahead of his former WRC 2 and Asia Pacific Rally Championship-winning cousin Pontus Tidemand by 1.2 seconds over the 2.6km stage, his Monster Energy-backed Polo GTI R5 also beating 2016 World Rallycross champion Mattias Ekström. Pernilla played her part in the victory by calling the pacenotes, the first time the mum-and-son team have competed together.

But, much as Oliver and Pernilla were delighted with their debut victory, they were both even happier to be competing again, and very, very grateful to the organising team who pulled the event together in some of the strangest circumstances in history.

‘A really tight fight’
‘It was a really tight fight at the end,’ said Oliver, ‘but to win is something special for me and my mum. It’s been a long time out of the car and I want to say a very big thanks to everybody who made this happen – the organisers and, of course, SVT for the television coverage. They have done an amazing job. It’s easy to sit at home and think: “I wish we could go rallying again…” but these guys stood up and made it happen. Thank you.

‘To drive behind these Monster Energy colours again was fantastic. It was great fun. The road was pretty rough in the end and that was tricky because we were having to push hard to stay ahead of Pontus. The competition has been amazing and so much fun!’ he exclaimed.

The lockdown event saw Pernilla maintain her outstanding Swedish record of success, having won four from the last five Rally Sweden Historics. ‘This was the first time I co-drove for Oliver, and I have to say, I was very impressed with how he listened and committed to the notes. Like Oliver said, we have to thank so many people for their efforts today. Of course SVT and the organisers, but also all the marshals and the Torsby community for making this happen and pulling this amazing Sunday afternoon off,’ she said.

‘I’m so proud to be Oliver’s mum today. He was fantastic and driving really, really well. ‘Now we want to look forward to the second half of the 2020 rallying season and hope we have more events to come. Rally Sweden Lockdown has been fantastic, but I hope this is the only time we need to run an event like this!”

Now the jewel in Volkswagen’s electric vehicle production crown, the company’s Zwickau factory is home to the first model in the era of ‘new Volkswagen’, the ID 3. However, three decades ago, the first Volkswagen to roll off the production line at the former East German factory in the Mosel region was a Polo.

The DM17,410 Alpine White Polo CL ‘DDR’ (Deutsche Demokratik Republik, East Germany) built on 21 May 1990 was the first of 2,525 Zwickau-assembled Polos that year. Initial Polo production got underway at the rate of 50 units per day, built from ‘knock-down’ kits. Fitted with a catalytic converter and a 1272cc, 55bhp four-cylinder engine, a total of 17,978 Polos were built at Zwickau until February 1991, when the car’s place on the production line was replaced by the second-generation Golf.

Communist-era car
A former Trabant factory, Volkswagen’s takeover of the Zwickau plant was completed in on 26 September 1990. The little communist-era German car born in 1957 had enjoyed a more modern engine during 1989-1990 with the fitment of the 1093 cc unit from the second-generation Polo, and so Volkswagen thought it made sense to build the small Volkswagen in East Germany, too. The cleaner-powered ‘Trabi’ began to banish its noisy, smoky, and two-stroke reputation in favour of a more environmentally-friendly image. Before the Trabant chapter in the Zwickau story, there are more links back to the Volkswagen Group as we know it today. Horch founder August Horch settled in the city in 1904, and brought with him the brand that bore his name, as well as Audi, DKW, and Auto Union.

The second-generation Polos built at Zwickau were identical to those coming off the lines at Volkswagen’s ‘home’ plant in Wolfsburg. Based on the first-generation Polo’s chassis, a very different body ensured that there was no mistaking the new car for the old. Styled like a small estate car, the second-generation Polo had improved engines, more practical features, and increased comfort. Clever ‘Formel E’ versions pioneered some of the BlueMotion technology enjoyed by more recent Volkswagens.

All-electric offensive
Fittingly, the factory which once produced a much cleaner range of Polos, is now spearheading Volkswagen’s all-electric offensive. The new ID 3, the company’s first purpose-designed, electric hatchback is available to order now, and the first examples silently emerged from the plant in November 2019. Marked by a lavish opening ceremony attended by German chancellor Angela Merkel, the factory now solely produces fully electric vehicles. The ID 4 SUV will be the next new car to roll off the lines.

Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH, as the factory complex is now known, now employs over 10,000 people at three locations, a massive increase on the 500 staff when that first Polo was built there in May 1990. A phased €1.2 billion e-mobility manufacturing transformation of the Zwickau factory will see a total of six all-electric models produced at the plant from 2021, with cars from Audi and SEAT added to the pair of ‘new era’ VWs.

Highly automated production lines
A total of 330,000 vehicles will be produced annually by the highly automated production lines, and it won’t be the first time other Volkswagen Group cars will have been made at the Mosel factory: bodies and chassis of Bentleys have been made there since 2001, with those of the Lamborghini Urus joining them in 2017. The luxurious Volkswagen Phaeton also had its bodies built at the historic former East German plant. The Polo may have played a small part in the Volkswagen Zwickau story, but being the first car to roll off the line wearing the fabled VW roundel, its role was a very important one. It helped established a vital grounding for what will now be a blueprint for Volkswagen factories of the future.

Update: the Zwickau factory produced its final internal combustion-engined car on 26 June 2020. Since 1990, a total of 6,049,207 Volkswagen cars have been produced at the plant, and the final petrol-engined car was an Oryx White Pearl Effect Golf R Estate. As well as the Polo, Golf, Golf Estate, Passat and Passat Estate models have also rolled off the Zwickau production lines. The ID 3 which replaces all of them at the factory, will also be produced at Volkswagen’s Transparent Factory in Dresden from 2021.

MOSEL MILESTONES: THE LIFE AND CARS OF ZWICKAU

1904
10 May August Horch moves his company to Zwickau, and establishes A Horch & Cie Motorwagenwerke AG.

1957
Trabant production starts at the Zwickau factory, now named VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke.

1990
21 May First ‘GDR’ Volkswagen produced, an Alpine White Polo CL.
August Trabant production ends (Trabants were fitted with Volkswagen Polo engines from 1989).
26 September Ground broken for new automobile factory.
12 December Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH formed.

1991
15 February Volkswagen Golf production starts in a new purpose-built factory.
October 20,000th Volkswagen produced at Zwickau.

1992
23 July Third-generation Volkswagen Golf production begins.
September 100,000th Volkswagen produced at Zwickau.

1993
September Volkswagen Golf Ecomatic production starts exclusively at Zwickau.

1994
February All-electric Volkswagen Golf CitySTOMER production begins.
August 250,000th Volkswagen produced at Zwickau.

1996
Volkswagen Passat joins Golf on the production line.

1998
Annual production capacity reaches 250,000 vehicles.

1999
9 July One millionth Volkswagen produced at Zwickau.

2001
Bentley and Volkswagen Phaeton bodies enter production.

2003
One millionth Volkswagen Passat produced at Zwickau.

2005
Zwickau Volkswagen Golf production reaches one million.

2016

Volkswagen Phaeton body production ends, Bentley Bentayga body production starts.

2017
Lamborghini Urus body production starts.

2018
Transformation to an e-vehicle production hub begins, with a 1.2 billion euro investment. From 2022, 330,000 electric cars will be produced at Zwickau, including six models for three brands: Volkswagen, Audi and SEAT.

2019
4 November Volkswagen ID 3 pre-production begins, with the build goal of 1,500 units per day.

With looks inspired by the Golf GTI TCR, limited run Polo and Vento TSI Editions have been launched by Volkswagen India. Based on the Highline Plus versions of both models but with added sporty flourishes, the Polo TSI Edition costs Rs 7.89 lakh, the Vento TSI Edition Rs 10.99 lakh.

Powered by a 108bhp, BS6-compliant turbocharged 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine, both the new limited edition Polo and Vento are offered with a six-speed manual gearbox. Outside, special Golf GTI TCR-like honeycomb body decals lift the now 11-year-old fifth-generation Polo design. A 6C Polo GTI bumper and honeycomb grille also inject some pizazz, along with ‘TSI Power’ graphics, gloss black mirror caps, and a gloss black roof and rear spoiler. A set of 16-inch alloy ‘Portago’ wheels borrowed from the Indian-market Polo GT also feature.

High level of equipment
Based on the Polo and Vento Highline Plus, the TSI Editions share the a similar high level of equipment. Standard kit includes an auto-dimming interior mirror, Climatronic automatic air conditioning, cruise control, electrically-operated and folding door mirrors, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a ‘Moonstone’ centre console finish, rain-sensing wipers, and a touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. When compared to the Highline Plus models, the Polo TSI Edition is priced at Rs 13,000 less, while the Vento TSI Edition represents a saving of Rs 1 lakh over the Vento Highline Plus.

A brochure can be downloaded here, and both the Polo and Vento TSI Editions are available to order now. Bookings can be made via the Volkswagen India website.

Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli has been appointed as official exclusive supplier to the Polo GTI R5. Volkswagen Motorsport states that from 2020, its customer sports rally car will be delivered exclusively with Pirelli competition tyres, and that its new partner will also now supply the car’s rubber for testing sessions.

Since the start of the year, the 270bhp four-wheel drive rallying Polo has been fitted with 235/40 R18 (size 20/65 18) asphalt Pirelli rubber. Official fitments will now be the P Zero RA for asphalt surfaces – in hard, medium, soft and supersoft compounds – the Scorpion K for gravel, and the Sottozero Ice and Sottozero Snow for events in winter conditions.

‘Great success in rallying’
‘We are delighted to welcome Pirelli as an official supplier of the Volkswagen customer rallying project,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets. ‘Pirelli is synonymous with great success in rallying and is very prevalent in international and national series held in accordance with R5 regulations. This way, our customers receive top-class and extremely successful tyre technology with the delivery of their Polo GTI R5.’

‘The technology contained within our rally tyres is born from a long experience at the top of motorsport,’ said Terenzio Testoni, Pirelli’s rally activity manager. ‘Our latest collaboration with Volkswagen on the Polo GTI R5 highlights the close collaboration that Pirelli enjoys with the world’s leading car makers to develop the best possible interaction between cars and tyres, delivering maximum performance in competition.’

A celebrated partnership
Since its debut at the 2018 Rally Spain, the Polo GTI R5 has celebrated four titles, 75 overall victories and class wins, as well as 150 podium results in the hands of customer teams. Fifty cars were delivered up to the end of 2019. Volkswagen’s motorsport association with Pirelli dates back as far as 1976, when the Italian tyre maker was the exclusive supplier for the first VW one-make series, the Scirocco-starring Volkswagen Junior Cup. In rallying, Pirelli and Volkswagen were crowned Group A world champions together in 1986. More recently, Pirelli, VW Motorsport and the Polo GTI R5 won titles in Estonia and Latvia with Oliver Solberg and Aaron Johnston.

Pirelli’s motorsport history stretches back over 110 years, and the Milanese firm has celebrated notable successes on the race track and rally stages. It debuted in the inaugural season of the World Rally Championship in 1973, and subsequently won 25 world championship titles and 181 race wins, with the P7 and P Zero among its roll-call of successes. Among its most acclaimed victories include WRC wins with Richard Burns/Robert Reid in 2001, Petter Solberg/Phil Mills in 2003, and Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena in 2008. Pirelli will also supply the top most category in the WRC for the coming season.

RacingLine Performance has announced details of its new turbo inlet and high-flow filter specially developed for recent Volkswagen Group models fitted with a 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine. The performance components will fit both fifth-generation ‘6C’ Polos from 2014 as well as current, 2017 onwards ‘AW’ models fitted with VW’s three-cylinder, ‘EA211’ 1.0 TSI engine. The Polo-based T-Cross 1.0 TSI SUV will also benefit from the upgrade.

Turbo inlet kit
Compatible with both factory and aftermarket intake boxes, RacingLine’s turbo inlet elbow will complement the company’s upcoming cold air intake, too. Ready to support higher power outputs and even future turbo upgrades, the kit consists of a high-flow turbo silicone inlet hose and a ‘Turbo 90’ inlet. Increased airflow is said to be one benefit, resulting in faster turbo response and a ‘worthwhile’ jump in power.

Made from reinforced, high quality silicone to prevent deformation under boost pressure or heat, a formed lip on the joins of the inlet hose ensures smooth airflow transition. The inlet elbow is manufactured from ultra-thin wall 6061-T6 aluminium, and has a gloss black anodised finish with an enlarged and smoothed internal bore for optimised airflow. RacingLine quotes a combined fitting time for both pieces of just 15 minutes, and has published a handy fitting guide.

High-flow filter
RacingLine’s high-flow filter will fit the same versions of the Polo 1.0 TSI as the turbo inlet kit. The triple-layer filter is handmade in the UK from Trifoam to OEM standards of design, materials and quality for improved, higher air flow, as well as economy and power gains. Removing the restrictions imposed by the factory paper filter, RacingLine quotes increases in mid-range power, without damaging any remaining manufacturer’s warranty.

RACINGLINE HISTORY
Originally formed in 1997, RacingLine was originally named Volkswagen Motorsport UK, and was fully owned by the Volkswagen Group in Germany. Competing in the 1990s British Rally Championship, the company raced a 285bhp third-generation Golf ‘Kit Car’, and won the 1997 series. In 1999 the fourth-generation Golf ‘Kit Car’ brought a second place in the British Rally Championship, and in 2000, a TDI version was the first diesel rally car in the series.

In 2001, RacingLine focused its efforts on the new Super 1600 category, with the Volkswagen Motorsport-built Polo GTI S1600 fitted with a high-revving Lehmann engine. Rebranded as Volkswagen Racing, the team took second place in the rallying championship. In 2002, the Volkswagen Racing Cup Championship had its inaugural season and the inclusion of a Golf 1.9 TDI racer was unusual. So unusual in fact, the car’s first win at Thruxton entered the record books, claiming the world’s first ever victory in a sprint race format for a diesel car. A Caddy van racer replaced the Golf in 2004, and followed a Polo-based Caddy circuit machine, the first racing van which debuted in 2002. A fifth-generation Golf TDI racer was also the first of its kind, and the team switched to a GTI in 2005.

Fast forward to 2013, and the UK’s first Golf R was upgraded with every applicable RacingLine part to become a circuit safety car to support the British GT Championship, and in 2016 an Audi R8 24-hour race car joined the fleet. In a partnership to take on the World Time Attack world finals in Australia, another R8 followed, this time a twin-turbo V10 with over 1,200bhp! At the same time, RacingLine partnered with Volkswagen Motorsport, Audi Sport and SEAT Sport for race car sales of the TCR series, along with parts and engineering support.

Find out more about the 1.0 TSI turbo inlet kit and the high-flow filter at the RacingLine website.