Category: Volkswagen

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Volkswagen

Volkswagen gives Polo mid-cycle makeover

Volkswagen Mk5 Polo facelift

Volkswagen has given its award-winning Mk5 Polo a refresh and you’ll do well to spot the differences, as is often the case with these mid-cycle updates.

If you look closely you’ll see the lower spoiler has been updated and likewise with the lower valance. There’s a bunch of new paint colours as well to help you spot the difference. Similarly, the interior of the Polo has been revamped to ensure trainspotters have something new to look at.

Mostly the changes are beneath the skin with the full engine range also being given the once over by Volkswagen’s engineers. All engines in the Polo now meet EU6 emissions standards and have stop/start fuel saving technology.

Other new tech added to the Polo range includes optional LED headlights, a battery regeneration mode, City Emergency Braking, Automatic Distance Control, Driver Alert and more. The infotainment system has also been updated and includes Bluetooth audio among other features.

Perhaps the biggest change of note is to the Polo GTI, which we’ll go into a bit later. For now there’s more pics and details from Volkswagen after the break.

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Audi Volkswagen

Volkswagen to make 283kW Golf R Evo

Volkswagen Mk7 Golf R

Volkswagen’s assault on the upper end of the hot hatch segment has become clearer after word Wolfsburg is planning a more powerful and lighter Golf R model, expected to carry the model designation “Evo”.

The current EA888 2.0 litre engine will be developed and modified with a new cylinder head and induction system to produce at least 283kW. The Golf R Evo will be available exclusively with a 6-speed DSG transmission and Haldex all-wheel drive system. It has a target weight of sub-1400kg.

We can also expect Audi to jump on this bandwagon, too, in the guise of an S3 Plus model featuring the same drivetrain.

This news has emerged from several sources who were at the Detroit Auto Show and spoke to VW’s Franz Eichler, the man poached from Mercedes who oversaw development of the 265kW 2.0 litre four-pot found in the A45 AMG.

[Source: Autocar]

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Citroen Ford Hyundai Volkswagen WRC

Sebastien Ogier wins 2014 Rallye Monte Carlo

2014 Rallye Monte Carlo

Sebastien Ogier overcame a poor tyre choice on Day 1 to fight back and win the Rallye Monte Carlo in style, getting his world championship defence off to a near perfect start.

To rack up his first Monte win Ogier had to reel in an impressive Bryan Bouffier in his first outing at the wheel of a privately entered Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Bouffier’s name may be familiar to you, he was one of the test drivers who helped develop the Hyundai i20 WRC, so his second place result will be extra sweet after missing out on official driving duties with the Korean team this year.

Conditions during the rally were extreme and presented the drivers with all kinds of hazards, from ice, “shiny” wet patches on slippery tarmac, heavy rain and a snow storm just to top things off.

Kris Meeke took a big step in repaying Citroën’s faith and was delighted to overcome those difficulties unscathed on his way to satisfying third place. He leaves Monte Carlo with increased confidence, acknowledging he has no issue with raw pace, but has in the past made too many silly errors.

Robert Kubica may need to take a few notes from Meeke. The former F1 star was sure fast enough during the rally and was easily mixing it with the established WRC front runners. Yet, he still found his way off course and crashed into a bridge in a manner perhaps only Robert could. Thankfully the impact was at relatively low speed and he was in no real danger of any injury.

Jari-Matti Latvala finds himself in Ogier’s shadow once again, although he lost a bit of time on Day 2 with an annoying puncture. Latvala did register a small win over his teammate when he beat him to first place in the Power Stage by 0.2 seconds. Judging by the look on Ogier’s face immediately afterwards the world of motorsport has another Seb who doesn’t like losing one little bit!

Of course, Hyundai’s return to the WRC spotlight didn’t quite go to plan and they’ll be hoping for more in Sweden next month.

After the break there’s Volkswagen’s official word along with pictures and videos from the leading WRC teams.

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Volkswagen

Volkswagen Golf wins 2013 Wheels COTY

2013 Volkswagen Golf

The Volkswagen Golf VII has been awarded the annual Wheels Car of the Year award. It’s the third win for Volkswagen’s venerable Golf, following wins for the Mk1 in 1976 and the Mk6 in 2009.

Car of the Year judges spoke very enthusiastically about the latest Golf. Wheels Editor Glenn Butler said: “Volkswagen seems almost to have set out to create a car to excel in every one of the five Wheels Car of the Year criteria. And, quite simply, the Golf has aced it.”

While long-time Wheels contributor John Carey stated: “From the smallest, thoughtful details to the biggest basics, this is a car that never falters. Its breadth of talent, it’s almost annoyingly persistent perfectionism and its unrelenting satisfaction make it something truly rare… a car for all reasons.

“This is one of the most worthy Wheels Car of the Year winners ever.”

It’s a welcome PR win for Volkswagen Australia who bungled its handing of the fallout from the Melissa Ryan case badly. The 32-year-old was killed while driving her Mk5 Golf GTI following a crash with a B-double semi trailer on Melbourne’s Monash Freeway, with claims her car inexplicably lost power and caused the accident.

Subsequent media coverage from Fairfax Media was highly critical of Volkswagen with many readers reporting concerns over the reliability of their VWs. Notably, DSG transmissions, diesel engines and 1.4 litre TFSI engines found in Mk6 Golfs. Ryan’s car was a 6-speed manual Mk5 Golf GTI powered by a 2.0 litre petrol engine, a fact often skimmed over by Fairfax and certainly missed by most of its readers.

The Victorian Coroner found Ryan’s car was not at fault and did not contribute to her death. However, Volkswagen Australia suffered in the eyes of the public and did not handle the criticism well at all in the early stages of the Fairfax campaign.

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Audi Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen

Volkswagen to ignite hot hatch power war

Volkswagen Mk7 Golf R

Mercedes-Benz makes much of the fact its A45 AMG features the most powerful four-cylinder production engine in the world. But that’s all about to change with word Volkswagen is set to trump the output of the hand-built AMG motor.

The 2.0 litre turbo in the A45 AMG produces 265kW/450Nm and the lab coats from Wolfsburg reckon they can better that with their warmed over 2.0 litre four-pot aiming for a minimum of 283kW (380hp). Volkswagen R engineers also reckon they can push towards 500Nm of torque.

An unnamed VW source claims: “It’s going to be a very fast car. Because it will be able to use all of its torque in first gear, it’s going to get to 100km/h in the very low four-second bracket.”

The A45 AMG limits torque in the first three gears to help protect its dual-clutch transmission. The new Volkswagen engine, able to be fitted to any of the group’s MQB-based cars, will be mated to an all-wheel drive system and specially developed 6-speed DSG which can cope with the predicted torque in all gears.

The engine is “based on an old generation engine block, so it’s cheaper to make than the AMG motor, too, and a lot less complex,” the source added. “It will move the game on again.”

Sounds like fun and games, and that’s just around the Audi and Volkswagen boardrooms as the two stablemates fight over who gets first dibs. Audi thinks its new TT would be a good fit, while Volkswagen has its sights set on the new Scirocco featuring the engine, which should be developed and ready to rumble late next year.

A preview of the engine may come in a concept car later this year, at September’s Paris Motor Show perhaps.

Naturally, Mercedes won’t take any challenge to its power crown lying down, with speculation an A45 AMG Black Series could boast a mighty 300kW.

This is going to be fun!

[Source: motoring.com.au | Thanks Richard to for the tip]

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Motor Shows Volkswagen

Detroit 2014: Volkswagen Beetle Dune concept

2014 Volkswagen Beetle Dune concept

Volkswagen has rocked up to Detroit with this Beetle Dune thingy. Officially it’s a concept model, but Volkswagen is making plenty of noises stating if the demand is there they will build it.

“Everything about this car is feasible—practically a production vehicle,” Volkswagen’s press release states.

So what do you get that makes it different from your garden variety Beetle? Most obviously there’s a bunch of model-specific cosmetic enhancements, inside and out. But the Dune has been raised by 50mm to give it that crucial urban clearance. And, check this out, it has ski racks on the back window. Yes, ski racks! You know for the snow. Where the roads are slippery and you often need to fit chains, unless you have an all-wheel drive car.

That’s probably the exact reason why the Dune concept is front-wheel drive. Hang on, that’s not right is it? Why didn’t they chuck in a 4 motion system? Cheapskates!

They’ve managed to put a decent engine in the car; a 155kW 2.0 litre turbo. So why leave it front-wheel drive? Even with the supposed weaknesses of the Haldex-sourced systems Volkswagen uses it would still add to the Dune’s abilities.

Interestingly, the front and rear track has been widened by 29mm and that should offer improved road holding, but we wonder if that would be one of the features lost if the Dune does become a series production model.

We actually don’t mind the look and basic idea behind the Dune concept, it looks fun. We just wish it had a bit more substance.

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Volkswagen WRC

Volkswagen ready for 2014 WRC title defence

2014 Volkswagen Polo R WRC

The 2014 WRC season kicks of with Rallye Monte Carlo next week and Volkswagen is ready to defend its world championship status.

Volkswagen forged an impressive reliability record with the Polo R WRC in 2013 and has made developments on last year’s car which it hopes will keep it at the front of the pack.

“When it comes to technical development, you simply cannot afford to let up for a single second,” said Motorsport Director Jost Capito. “Although we won some laurels in 2013, we have certainly not rested on them.

“The manufacturers in the World Rally Championship agreed not to homologate any new World Rally Cars for the 2014 season. Despite this, we tried to take full advantage of the options still available to us. Many detailed aspects of the 2014 Polo R WRC have been further developed since we made our debut twelve months ago.”

Of course, in 2014 we see a new factory team to contend with on the form of Hyundai Motorsport. A welcome addition to the WRC, no doubt. Citroën, especially, and Ford will be hoping for better outcomes this year, as well.

In many respects this year will be harder for Volkswagen than last, they now have so much more to lose, and it will be fascinating to see how the season develops.

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Volkswagen WRC

Volkswagen celebrates stunning 2013 with silverware

Volkswagen Motorsport collects WRC tophies

Last weekend Citroën was busy signing its drivers for 2014, but Volkswagen Motorsport had the rather more enviable task of attending the FIA’s annual trophy presentation night in Paris.

While there FIA President Jean Todt was kind enough to furnish Volkswagen with three trophies, one for the manufacturers’ title and one each for the championship winning driver, Sebastien Ogier, and his co-driver, Julien Ingrassia.

Ogier reminded us all of the obvious, taht nobody could have predicted such unprecedented success for Volkswagen this year.

“If anyone had told us before the start of the season that Julien and I would end the year with nine wins and the World Championship title, we would probably have sent them straight to the team doctor,” he said. “This is a dream come true for Julien and me, and we are both extremely proud and honoured to finally get our hands on the FIA trophies.”

Team boss, Jost Capito also shared a few words of gratitude for his Volkswagen Motorsport colleagues.

“Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine this kind of result in our first season in the World Rally Championship,” Capito reflected. “I would like to say a big thank you to everyone in the Volkswagen team. From the mechanics to the truck drivers, from the race engineers to the marketing department—the commitment shown by every single individual is what made the greatest success in Volkswagen’s motorsport history possible.

“And we must not forget that the Polo R WRC was not only quick from the word go, but also extremely reliable. Our three driver/co-driver pairings also produced outstanding performances. Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, in particular, more than deserve their title in the Driver and Co-Driver Championship, with nine wins to their name this season.”

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Volkswagen WRC

Volkswagen Motorsport pats itself on the back

The story of glory video

That dust is pretty much all that Volkswagen’s rivals saw during the 2013 WRC season. In its debut year Volkswagen Motorsport won 10 out of 13 races, with nine of those victories going to new world champion Sebastien Ogier.

It was remarkable year for the German giants who could not have hoped for such great things when they rocked up to Monte Carlo in mid-January.

Here, in this brief one minute video, Volkswagen recaps its year. This is the director’s cut according to the video’s title. That’s all very well, but we’d quite like to see an extended remix thanks very much.

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Citroen Ford Volkswagen WRC

Sebastien Ogier wins 2013 Wales Rally GB

2013 Wales Rally GB

Okay, we know this update is a week late, but you pay peanuts, you get monkeys!

So, last weekend Sebastien Ogier did what he does best and that’s dominating his teammates and opponents on the way to another WRC victory, this time at the season-ending Wales Rally GB.

Like the Seabstian in Formula 1, Ogier has done enough by himself to wrap up the manufacturers’ championship for his employer. Although Volkswagen certainly didn’t complain to see Jari-Matti Latvala pick up second place in Wales, providing the team with a perfectly suitable close to a year they would not have even dared to dream when they rocked up to Monte Carlo in January.

Equally fitting was seeing Thierry Neuville on the podium. In just his second year in the WRC he placed second overall in the drivers’ title. He’ll be hoping to emulate Volkswagen’s success in 2014 when he leads the charge for Hyundai’s re-introduction into rallying’s premier category.

And the less said about Citroën’s race in Wales and the season overall the better. They had a terrible year and may well choose to sulk off into the distance with the security of Sebastien Loeb’s WTCC campaign to console them.

The WRC now enters its dormant stage. Although, with just over 50 days until the teams re-emerge for the 2014 season there won’t be much time for reflection for Ogier and Volkswagen, who will no doubt be hoping to embarrass the competition again next year. Thankfully, Neuville, at the very least, will have other ideas.

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Safety Issues Volkswagen

Volkswagen AG announces international recalls

Volkswagen

Volkswagen AG issued an international recall notice on Friday which will affect over 2.6 million vehicles worldwide.

A total of three campaigns are being run:

  1. Tiguan vehicle lights (affecting approximately 800,000 vehicles)
  2. DQ200 DSG oil change (affecting approximately 1.6 million vehicles)
  3. Amarok fuel pipe (affecting approximately 240,000 vehicles)

Tiguans built between 2008–11 will have a fuse replaced to remove the possibility of a faulty fuse blowing and causing one of the two light circuits to fail.

All vehicles fitted with a DQ200 7-speed DSG which use synthetic oil will be recalled to replace the synthetic oil with mineral oil. This is to prevent “electric malfunctions” on vehicles “subject to a hot and humid climate, coupled with a high proportion of stop and go driving”.

Volkswagen Australia says it has already issued a recall covering 25,928 vehicles with DSG gearboxes built between June 2008 and September 2011. About 40% of owners affected by this recall have already had their gearbox oil changed and they will not need to return their vehicles for further attention as a result of this new recall.

Some Amarok models fitted with a 2.0 litre TDI engine can suffer from a leaking fuel pipe in the engine compartment. Volkswagen Australia will contact owners of affected vehicles and bring them in to fit a chafe protector to the affected areas.

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Safety Issues Volkswagen

Victorian Coroner clears Volkswagen in Ryan case

Volkswagen Golf V GTI

On Friday Victorian Coroner Heather Spooner delivered her findings into the investigation of the death of Melissa Ryan in 2011. The case came to prominence earlier this year after a concerted campaign from Fairfax Media.

Ryan died from head injuries suffered after her car was hit from behind by a B-double semi trailer. The truck driver, Ivan Mumford, told Police at the scene: “She was in my peripheral vision; all of a sudden she had almost come to a stop in front of me. I stood on the brakes and at this time there was only about eight feet between us. I hit her, pushed her forward and then her car took off and stopped against the wire.”

Fairfax Media reported on the incident with the headline “Death prompts VW owners to speak out”. Whether by intention or otherwise the article and subsequent intense coverage from Fairfax gave the impression that Ryan’s death was linked to ongoing issues with Volkswagen models, most fitted with 7-speed DQ200 DSG transmissions and 1.4 litre TFSI engines. Ryan’s car was a 2008 Golf GTI fitted with a 6-speed manual transmission and a 2.0 litre turbo engine.

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