Volkswagen takes advantage of new regulations to build a faster Polo rally car

By Ronan Glon Published April 13, 2016

Volkswagen is taking advantage of new regulations to make its highly successful Polo R rally car faster, more powerful, and safer. The updated racer will make its competition debut at the start of the 2017 World Rally Championship (WRC) season.

An official preview sketch published by Volkswagen reveals that the 2017 Polo R stands out from the car that’s taken first overall three years in a row thanks to a completely redesigned body kit. It has longer overhangs on both ends, it’s much wider thanks to more pronounced fender flares on all four corners, and it’s fitted with a massive wing out back. The new look is complemented by a 2017-specific dark blue and white livery.

Recommended Videos

The Polo carries on with a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. However, the new regulations allow manufacturers to increase the size of the turbo’s air restrictor from 34 to 36 millimeters. The four-banger consequently makes 380 horsepower, a roughly 60-pony increase over the current model and 191 horsepower more than the Polo GTI, a range-topping model that earns the honor of being the most powerful series-produced Polo available. Volkswagen isn’t ready to announce performance specifications yet.

WRC officials have reduced the minimum weight of rally cars to just 2,590 pounds, meaning the revised 2017 Polo is about 55 pounds lighter than the 2016 version. Finally, the turbo four’s power is sent to the ground via an electronically controlled center differential.

Volkswagen will publish more details about the 2017 Polo R in the coming months. WRC fans will get their first chance to check out the updated Polo R in person during next year’s edition of the Monte-Carlo Rally. Of course, the current car isn’t retiring quite yet because there are still ten races left in the 2016 WRC season, including events in Finland, in France, in China, and in Australia.

Former Contributor

Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

Topics

Cars

Order an Uber and a self-driving Mustang might show up

Electronics, Phone, Mobile Phone

Ordering an Uber in London could come with a surprise today. Instead of a conventional car and driver pulling up, you might find a Ford Mustang Mach-E that can drive itself. Uber has launched London's first public robotaxi service in partnership with British autonomous driving company Wayve. The service is available through the Uber app, meaning you don't need to download anything new or book a special type of ride to try it.

There is one important caveat. Although the cars will handle the driving themselves, a trained safety operator will initially sit behind the wheel, ready to intervene if necessary. Fully driverless rides are planned for a later stage. The launch fleet consists of electric Mustang Mach-Es equipped with cameras, radar, and Wayve's AI Driver technology. These systems give the vehicle a 360-degree view of what's happening around it. And if anywhere can put that technology through its paces, London seems like a pretty good candidate.

Cars

Range Rover Electric arrives with 543hp, 600km range, and a starting price of the moon

The electric Range Rover is here, and your wallet may need CPR

Range Rover EV

The Range Rover has never been shy about luxury, size or price, and its first fully electric version is carrying that tradition into the EV era. Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) first battery-electric Range Rover is now open for orders, starting at £154,070, or about $208,420. That makes it one of the most expensive electric SUVs on the market.

The electric model costs almost £50,000 more than the standard combustion-engine Range Rover. It is priced in the same territory as the electric Mercedes-Benz G 580 and not far from ultra-luxury gasoline SUVs such as the Bentley Bentayga.

Cars

A solar ambulance has successfully tackled 500 miles of difficult terrain

Stella Juva

For years, solar-powered vehicles have largely lived in the world of prototypes, university projects and ambitious demonstrations. Now, one has completed the kind of test that matters far more than a flashy concept reveal: it drove hundreds of miles through difficult terrain while carrying medical equipment and generating enough electricity to operate independently.

Called Stella Juva, the vehicle was developed by Solar Team Eindhoven, a group of 23 students from Eindhoven University of Technology and two other educational institutions. According to a CNN report, the team describes it as the world's first solar ambulance. Unlike a conventional ambulance, however, Stella Juva is designed less to rush patients to hospitals and more to bring medical care to people who cannot easily reach it.