Volkswagen Polo GTI
Encyclopedia
Hot hatch
Hot hatch was originally an informal automotive industry term, shortened from hot hatchback, initially coined by the British motoring press in 1984, for a high-performance derivative of a car body style consisting of a three- or five-door hatchback automobile.Vehicles of this class are based on...
version of the Volkswagen Polo
Volkswagen Polo
The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car manufactured by Volkswagen. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, coupé and estate variants....
supermini
Supermini car
A supermini is a British term that describes automobiles larger than a city car but smaller than a small family car. This car class is also known as the B-segment across Europe, and as subcompact in North America....
, produced by German automaker
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
.
Mk2 Polo GT G40 and Mk2F Polo G40
The Volkswagen Polo GTI can trace its roots back to the original hot Polo, the supercharged 1.3 L 115 PS (83 kW) G40. It was sold in the United Kingdom between 1990–1994 in the form of the Mk2F Polo, but was available during the late 1980s in limited numbers in Europe in the form of the Mk2 Polo GT G40Volkswagen Polo G40
The Volkswagen Polo Mk2 and Polo Mk2F were available as supercharged G40 models - called the Volkswagen Polo G40 .-Mk2:...
. The car was expensive compared to its rivals of the time, and therefore did not sell in vast numbers (Ford Fiesta XR2, Peugeot 205 GTI or Opel Corsa
Opel Corsa
The front-wheel drive Opel Corsa was first launched in September 1982 to replace the Opel Kadett C City, and to fill the gap vacated as the Kadett grew in size and price. Built in Zaragoza, Spain, the first Corsas were three-door hatchback and two-door saloon models, with four-door and five-door...
GTE/GSi etc.). This makes it highly collectible today and according to Top Gear
Top Gear (magazine)
Top Gear is an automobile magazine published by BBC Worldwide, and named after the BBC's Top Gear television show. It was first published in October 1993 and is published monthly at a price of £3.95. The major presenters of the television series—Richard Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson—are...
magazine, "a potential future classic". If kept in good condition, this lightweight and small engined car will keep up with much larger rivals thanks to its supercharger
G-Lader
The G-Lader is a scroll-type supercharger used in various Volkswagen Passenger Cars models. Its purpose is to increase the motive power output from the internal combustion engine attainable with a given engine displacement. Since it is not enough to simply inject more fuel, as this produces too...
. This is a technology that has recently found its way back into Volkswagen's range of cars, most noticeably the new Golf GT 1.4 TSI which boasts 170 PS from its small engine. It is likely that a TSI engine will find its way into a Polo GTI at some point in the future.
Mk3 Polo GTI
After production of the G40Volkswagen Polo G40
The Volkswagen Polo Mk2 and Polo Mk2F were available as supercharged G40 models - called the Volkswagen Polo G40 .-Mk2:...
ended in 1994, Volkswagen decided to release the first GTI-branded Polo in a limited batch of just 3000. It was released in 1995 and available only in left hand drive. It featured a 1.6-litre 16-valve 120 PS (88 kW) engine. The GTI was not available in the UK at any stage during its limited production, this meant that as of 1994 the UK only had the 100 bhp 1.4 16v as a model with any sporting intent. This was the case until 2000 when the Polo Mk3 model range was finally revamped and the first GTI-branded Polos arrived in the United Kingdom.
Mk3 Polo GTI
Between 2000 and 2002, Volkswagen offered two sporting models — the 16V and GTI. The 16V came with the 1.4 16V 100 PS (74 kW) engine and had options such as 15" Spa alloys and air conditioning. However, the GTI - available only in 3 or 5 door hatchback body styles with a 1.6 16V 125 PS (92 kW) engine with variable valve timing. External changes included deeper front bumpers with honeycomb mesh grilles, a subtle rear spoiler, side skirts, fog lights, and 15" BBSBBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG
BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG is a high performance automobile wheel design company headquartered in Schiltach, Germany. BBS serves North America through BBS of America, located in Braselton, Georgia, adjacent to the Road Atlanta Racetrak...
split rims for the wheels. There were also standard extras such as Climatronic
Climatronic
Climatronic is a fully electronic climate control system. Main difference between classic air conditioner and Climatronic is that it uses computer system instead of manual controls to adjust air distribution, temperature and flow to provide desired climate conditions. User defines basic parameters...
fully automatic air conditioning, xenon headlights with a headlight washer system, a six-disc CD autochanger, exclusive sports interior with leather steering wheel and gearstick, chrome inserts, and driver aids such as ABS
Anti-lock braking system
An anti-lock braking system is a safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to continue interacting tractively with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and therefore avoiding skidding.An ABS generally offers...
with EBD
Electronic brakeforce distribution
Electronic brakeforce distribution ', Electronic brakeforce limitation ' is an automobile brake technology that automatically varies the amount of force applied to each of a vehicle's brakes, based on road conditions, speed, loading, etc...
and an EDL (a system to aid traction). Leather and satellite navigation were also optional extras. The Polo GTI Mk3F however never got the new six-speed gearbox that was introduced in the smaller Volkswagen Lupo GTI which shared the same engine. This was because of repeated failures of the Polo GTI's 5 speed gearboxes due to faulty bearings.
Mk4 Polo GT
With the introduction of the 2002 Polo, the GTI model was discontinued and was given no direct replacement. There was however a GT model produced, featuring the same 1.9 TDI 130 PS engine found in the popular Škoda Fabia vRS and SEAT Ibiza FR TDI as well as a six-speed gearbox. Although this model had a relatively slow 0–100 km/h (62 mph) time of over 9 seconds, it did have impressive mid-range clout with torque figures of 310 Nm (228 lb-ft). This gave the GT very impressive in-gear acceleration, meaning it could make light work of overtaking as well as pull itself out of corners on twisting B roads with ease whilst returning fuel economy of over 50 mpg.Mk4 Polo GTI
It was not until late 2005, after yet another Polo revamp that the GTI was reintroduced. This time it boasted a 1.8T 150 PS engine which had been used in everything from the Mk4 Volkswagen Golf GTI to the Audi A6Audi A6
The Audi A6 is an executive car marketed by the German automaker Audi AG, now in its fourth generation. As the successor to the Audi 100, the A6 is manufactured in Neckarsulm, Germany – and is available in saloon, and wagon configurations, the latter marketed by Audi as the Avant.All generations...
. Despite the impressive figures this new model lacked the standard features of the Polo GTI Mk3 with xenon headlights not even on the options list and fully digital climate control only being an expensive option. Although faster than the 2000-2002 Polo GTI, the newer model was also seen as being off the pace when compared to its rivals, most of which are now nudging 200 PS. In Europe this led to VW quickly beefing up the Polo further to create the Polo GTI Cup Edition, which was tuned to around 180 PS and featured more aggressive styling. http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/204814/volkswagen_polo.html
Mk5 Polo GTI
The Mk5 Polo GTI was launched at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The new GTI is powered by VW's award winning 180 PS 1.4 TSI engine (adapted from that used in the current SciroccoVolkswagen Scirocco
The Scirocco is a 3-door Coupe manufactured by German automaker Volkswagen, undergoing two generations of development between 1974 and 1992 and reintroduced in a third generation in August 2008.-Etymology:...
) which uses both a supercharger
Supercharger
A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
and turbocharger
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...
to provide torque throughout the rev range. The Mk5 Polo is also 7.5% lighter than its predecessor and with a 30 PS increase in power over the previous generation Polo GTI it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.9 seconds. The Mk5 Polo also includes features not found on previous generation Polos such as touch screen satellite navigation and a seven-speed version of VW's DSG gearbox as standard.