Images: Volkswagen Polo R WRC Limited Production

Published: Friday, July 5, 2013, 14:42 [IST]

For a manufacturer to enter World Rally Championship they have to participate using a car that has the ‘production car' tag attached to it. VW is fulfilling that mandate by bring out the limited edition production version Polo R WRC. The most powerful production VW Polo built till date. It is a different matter that these production Polo R WRC cars come nowhere close to the performance offered by the actual race cars.

Production of these hot hatches are limited to just 2,500 units and no, they are not available in India. With VW set to begin deliveries of Polo R WRC from September, to customers who pre-booked it, the company has released a few nicely shot images of the Polo. Perhaps they will inspire you with ideas to trick out your own Polo.

While the race spec WRC Polo has a 1.6 liter 295 HP engine under the bonnet, the new production version has a larger 2.0 liter unit, which puts out 217 HP.

This still makes the Polo R WRC a lot more powerful than the Polo GTI variant.

Transmission is a 6 speed manual, but here comes a major difference between the racing version and the production one.

While the WRC Polo is an all wheel drive car, the Polo R WRC gets its power delivered to the front wheels.

A front wheel drive hot hatch is usually not a good idea, unless the manufacturer has put in extra effort to make it handle properly. We are not sure if that is the case with this vehicle.

However, VW is confident the stiff sports suspension and the electronic differential lock will ensure great handling.

Performance numbers are as follows: 0 to 100 km/h in 6.4 seconds and a top speed of 243 km/h.

All 2,500 units of the Polo R WRC will come in the same colour white scheme, wearing the blue and gray stripes and the WRC logo and badge.

Other standard features that will be offered with the Polo R WRC include 18-inch Cagliari alloy-wheels, Bi-Xenon headlights, roof mounted roof mounted spoiler and side skirts on the exterior.