PoloDriver

Long-standing suspension bush tuning company Powerflex has announced details of a pair of geometry adjusting products for the Volkswagen Group PQ24 platform, which includes the fourth-generation ‘9N’ and ‘9N3’ Polo models, built from autumn 2001 to spring 2009.

The front wishbone front bush with camber adjustment (PFF85-201G) costs from £45.54 each, while the front wishbone rear bush with caster offset (PFF85-602G) is priced from £65.94 each. Manufactured by the company which produces the number one selling performance bushes in Europe, prices include VAT and both are available now to order online at www.powerflex.co.uk.

In-built camber adjustment
The front wishbone front bush has in-built camber adjustment, and the 30mm diameter bushing permits +/- 0.5 degrees of camber adjustment thanks to its offset bore, which can be easily rotated using the bespoke tooling (supplied). This gives a greater degree of control over the car’s geometry settings, while the bush’s knurled end prevents unwanted sleeve rotation and enables camber settings to be ‘fixed’ once the optimal position has been achieved.

In-built caster adjustment
Powerflex’s front wishbone rear bush with in-built caster adjustment is even more impressive. Engineering a bushing able to offer +1 degree of caster proved challenging for the Powerflex research and development team, but the resulting product comprises a low friction polyurethane centre bush, housed within a specially-created, hard-anodised aluminium outer shell.

This is proven to promote the optimum relationship between bushing and aluminium shell, with the low friction rotating bush serving to reduce the forces acting on the arm itself. The lower arm deflection has been decreased by reducing the compliant material within the aluminium shell, effectively allowing for improved in-corner camber, without compromising straight line traction.

Lifetime warranty
Powerflex’s signature polyurethane is the material from which the latest bushes are made. As it has a proven ability to withstand the immense forces, temperatures and conditions which are part and parcel of a hard-working automotive chassis, the PQ24 bushes benefit from Powerflex’s lifetime warranty. As well as the standard kits, Powerflex also offers the PQ24 chassis products in its Black Series range, which are tailored for use with track day and competition cars, and boast a stiffer construction.

Also compatible with the 1999 to 2005 Audi A2 (1999-2005), the 2002 to 2009 SEAT Cordoba ‘6L’ and 2002 to 2008 SEAT Ibiza ‘6L’, 2000 to 2007 Skoda Fabia (2002-2008), as well as the 2205 to 2011 Volkswagen Fox, visit the Powerflex website for more information.

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Over the weekend of 26-28 June, the UK’s leading organisation for Volkswagen Polo owners once again staged its annual gathering. Previously called the ‘Polo Show’, for 2015 the name of the event was changed to more reflect its status and nature, being more of a social meet-up than a full-blown ‘show’ in the traditional sense.

Show ’n’ Shine
Whatever the name, it didn’t deter Polo owners from all corners of the UK descending on Billing Aquadrome in Northamptonshire for three days of Polo-based antics. With a Show ’n’ Shine on the Sunday, we made our way to the event to present the PoloDriver.com trophy for what we thought was the best car at the show. Shane Biggs’ 6N2 GTI was awarded the prize.

Eight trophies in total were up for grabs, with four (1st, 2nd, 3rd best cars in show and ‘People’s Choice’) awards chosen by the event attendees. Club Polo organisers chose the ‘Best Wheels’, ‘Best Interior’ and ‘Best Rat’ winners.

A relaxed and informal atmosphere is one of the nice things about the event, and as usual, there was a nice mix of older and newer cars, though sadly no Mk 1 Polos made the event in the model’s 40th anniversary year. To find out more about Club Polo or to join, visit clubpolo.co.uk.

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Suspension manufacturer Bilstein has released a damper upgrade for the Polo 9N, built from 2002-2005. Suitable for every variant and engine from the base-model 1.2 three-cylinder car to the 1.9 TDI and GTI versions, Bilstein sys that the B8 damper package ‘significantly enhances the dynamic abilities’ of the 9N’s chassis. The dampers work with both the OEM springs as well as any quality aftermarket replacements, and function well with lower ride heights. The B8 range is designed for drivers in search of more damping capability with improved handling and reduced squat and dive. Everyday ride comfort stays intact.

Each B8 unit is hand-finished in Bilstein’s German factory to surpass even the most stringent of OEM production standards, using the latest gas pressure technology and inverted monotube construction. The suspension manufacturer states that the kit ‘draws heavily from our motorsport heritage and are vastly superior to the twin-tube design fitted by most manufacturers’. Signed off by its own test drivers and engineers after dyno-analysis, the B8 dampers also boast a significantly greater service life than standard parts, as well as offering increased active safety. For more details and prices, visit www.bilstein.de.

[Source: vwtuningmag.com]

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The €33.900 2013 Polo R WRC is just the latest in a line of limited-run Polos made by Volkswagen. An admittedly small line, the German manufacturer has, when it has seen fit, produced special runs of go-faster Polos, inspired by, or to celebrate, motorsport success. The Polo R WRC heralds the arrival of the Polo R WRC competition car which makes its debut in the World Rally Championship next year, and will see only 2500 left-hand drive examples leave the Volkswagen’s R GmbH skunkworks. It may well be the most powerful production Polo ever with 218bhp, but it’s not the first. An even more focused motorsport-inspired Polo left Volkswagen Individual’s production line eight years ago – say hello to the Club Sport.

The Polo Club Sport celebrated the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup, a one-make series which visited the race tracks of Germany from 2004-2009. The race cars were proper, stripped-out tintops, powered by 1984cc, 148bhp FSI engines. It differed by having 30bhp more, courtesy of its 1.8-litre, turbocharged engine, ubiquitous in the Volkswagen Group range of cars at the time. A strict two-seater, Volkswagen encouraged potential owners to ‘Experience the fascination of motorsport’. It stated that ‘Stamina, concentration and enthusiasm’ were all part of the Polo Club Sport’s make-up, and going on looks alone, it appeared it could deliver.

Largely identical to the Polo Cup racers, the Club Sport featured external add-ons such as front and rear spoilers, side skirts, 17-inch ‘Aristo’ alloy wheels borrowed from the Golf R32 fitted with 205/45 R17 Dunlop tyres, and a sports-tuned exhaust. Colour choice was as limited as the car itself, with only Flash Red, Reflex Silver and Yellow being the available hues. Inside, the Club Sport was equally as focused. Two Recaro racing seats featured Schroth harnesses, while Alcantara was liberally applied to the headlining, pillar trim, luggage space and steering wheel (which later appeared without the suede-like material in the Polo Fun/Dune). A half-roll cage painted in the body colour completed the motorsport accoutrements, while a numbered plaque informed the driver of his/her place in the very limited production run.

How limited? That’s where the details of the Polo Club Sport get sketchy. Although brochures were dated May 2004, there seem to be no details on prices, production figures (exact or approximate), or whether the car only available to Polo Cup drivers, or the wider general public. We would hope it was the latter, but whatever was the true case, the Polo Club Sport remains arguably the most motorsport-focused road Polo there’s ever been, and has the potential to wipe the smile off the faces of those who think Volkswagen’s premium small hatch is best suited for those shopping runs to the local supermarket. You could drive to the shops in the Polo Club Sport of course, but you’d just have to go via the race track first…

2004 VOLKSWAGEN POLO CLUB SPORT

Engine: 1781cc four-cylinder petrol with turbocharger
Power: 178bhp/132kW (180PS)
Gearbox: Five-speed manual (MQ 250-5F)
Wheels/tyres: 17-inch ‘Aristo’ alloy wheels/Dunlop 205/45 R17 tyres
Exterior: motorsport front and rear spoilers, side skirts, sports-tuned exhaust
Interior: Alcantara-trimmed pillar trim, luggage space, roof lining and steering wheel, half roll cage, numbered dashboard plaque.

[Additional images: AutoBild.de]

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A South African-built 2004 Volkswagen Polo Classic (saloon) has reached the one million kilometer (621,000 miles) mark – after 8 years of fault and accident-free motoring. Sixty-seven year old veteran salesman Gerrie Esterhuizen owns the car and awaited the milestone reading with anticipation. ‘We always wondered what would happen when the speedometer hit the million-kilometre mark,’ he said at a VIP visit with his wife Magriet to the Volkswagen factory in Uitenhage, where his car was made.

Volkswagen Group South Africa Managing Director, David Powels, presented the Esterhuizens with a new instrument cluster (above) and their vehicle was given a special overnight paint, dent removal, and general brush-up package under the eye of Volkswagen South Africa’s Production Director Tom du Plessis.

‘After 999999.9 kilometres, the speedometer just shows six dashes, although the trip meter carries on working,’ Magriet commented. She has been Gerrie’s constant companion as he travels as a salesman from their home is Soutpan, near Bloemfontein, over the roads of the Free State and parts of the Northern Cape, North West and Lesotho.

‘We travel up to 800km (497 miles) a day from our home and back, often spending more than 10 hours on the road and seeing clients, mainly in small towns in our sales territory,’ Gerrie said. ‘These days we average between 8000 and 10,000km (4970 and 6213 miles) a month. In previous years we drove more than 12,000km (7456 miles) a month.’

Gerrie and Magriet have kept meticulous records of their million-kilometre driving odyssey, too: ‘We reckon the Polo used 66,666 litres (14,664 gallons) of fuel to get to the million mark. That’s an excellent figure of about 700km (434 miles) per 50-litre tank, or 15km a litre (6.6km/l, 43mpg). Working out the cost over the eight years at an average of R8/l, that’s about R533,000 in fuel costs,’ Gerrie states.

‘But the cost of maintaining the car has been so low we can’t calculate that. We have had two new fuel pumps fitted – one at 200,000km (124,274 miles) and the other at 800,000 (497,097 miles), but the engine has never been opened since we bought the car at Alan Hudson Motors in Nelspruit. Its clutch, starter, alternator, exhaust system, radiator and oil pump are all original. We always ensure that genuine VW parts are used when the vehicle goes for service. I have never experienced such outstanding reliability in any other car I have driven.’

[Source: Volkswagen South Africa]

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