Technical chief of the Volkswagen Polo GTI, Dr. Ernst Linder has confirmed that Audi will roll out the S1 next year, and because of that there won’t be a Polo R to avoid clashing. The good doctor however revealed that a Jetta R is in the works.
Linder said that the range topping A1 will get a 178 bhp 1.4-litre Twincharger engine and a seven-speed DSG, as per the Polo GTI. No quattro though, the S1 will be front driven. On the Polo R, he said: “From the technical point-of-view, of course we can do something, but from the financial point-of-view it makes not so much sense. It would be too expensive and we have the S1. The S1 will have 178 bhp and it’s a very sporty car. If we put much more horsepower in the (Polo), we need something like four-wheel-drive. This is a technical feature that is very expensive.”
He did not let slip any technical information for the Jetta R. But since the standard “Golf sedan” isn’t even out yet, the performance version should be quite some time away from surfacing.
VW has almost 10 car brands under its wings and is planning to introduce a further 60 models (including multiple variants and facelifts) this year alone. Volkswagen is slowly building up its repertoire of technical knowledge and car brands in its bid to become the largest automaker by the year 2018. This in turn should reflect a sales figure of 10 million units a year. Thus to achieve that goal VW has to assimilate skills from already established companies.
