Pocket Rocket
BBC TopGear India|July 2017

VW Motorsport Has Turned A Compact Sedan Into A Ferocious Racecar

Agasti Kaulgi
Pocket Rocket

A few years back, VW had organised a race at the BIC for the media fraternity with their race car, the Polo Cup car. Representing TopGear was yours truly. It was the first race that I would be a part of and the first ever race car that I’d pilot ever in my life. How hard could it be? It was just a Polo, how different could it be from the Polo that we’ve been driving for years now? Well, the answer to those questions is one word: very. It was far from behaving like the road-legal Polo, much more violent and cruel that I’d imagined it would be. Raw and unapologetic in every respect.

It didn’t have ABS and it would try and face the wrong direction every time the wheels locked after braking hard before a corner. And the lift-off over steer was something I’d never ever imagined in the wildest of my dreams. The results of that race weekend were rather dramatic for me – the Polo Cup car was a little too wild for me to tame and I ended up in the barricades in qualifying itself. The weekend was over for me even before the race.

Just like me, it was VW India’s maiden attempt at making a race car and putting together a one-make racing series. The car was raw and it had no safety nets of any sort; you’d end up in the barricades or spin out with the slightest of mistakes. It had a diesel engine from the production model, of course, tuned to suit the racetrack, and five-speed manual gearbox. VW Motorsport used it for two years before shifting to a petrol TSI motor mated to a dual-clutch race-tuned gearbox.

Denne historien er fra July 2017-utgaven av BBC TopGear India.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra July 2017-utgaven av BBC TopGear India.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BBC TOPGEAR INDIASe alt
Does It Fly?
BBC TopGear India

Does It Fly?

2024 TVS APACHE RR 310 ₹2.75 Lakh - ₹2.97 Lakh (ex-showroom)

time-read
7 mins  |
October 2024
Is It A Scooter? Is It A Bike? No! It Is The BMW CE 02
BBC TopGear India

Is It A Scooter? Is It A Bike? No! It Is The BMW CE 02

It is rare when you come across a moment where a company brings out a vehicle into the market without knowing who exactly they want to sell it to.

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2024
Aston Martin Valkyrie
BBC TopGear India

Aston Martin Valkyrie

The Aston Martin Valkyrie still looks like nothing else on four wheels. Probably because it isn’t.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
ONE-MAN BAND
BBC TopGear India

ONE-MAN BAND

We are a cynical bunch of people as we try our best to narrow down our vision and focus on the things that are lacking.

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2024
CRISIS AVERTED! THE EXISTENTIAL KIND
BBC TopGear India

CRISIS AVERTED! THE EXISTENTIAL KIND

Finally, the Yezdi Adventure won’t be suffering from an existential crisis anymore.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 2024
ROYAL ENFIELD HIMALAYAN
BBC TopGear India

ROYAL ENFIELD HIMALAYAN

ALTHOUGH IT IS A PERENNIAL ORDEAL FOR ANY MOTORCYCLIST to feel sad while parting ways with a motorcycle, it became even sadder for me this time around.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
TVS APACHE RTR 310
BBC TopGear India

TVS APACHE RTR 310

THE FIRST THING I WANT TO SAY IS - “IT IS A MENACE ON WHEELS”.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
ACE OF BASE
BBC TopGear India

ACE OF BASE

What happens when you take Porsche's old school entry level model and give it a very not entry level upgrade? This is a 914 as you've never seen it before

time-read
5 mins  |
October 2024
MOMS KNOW BEST
BBC TopGear India

MOMS KNOW BEST

Volvo's XC90 was the stereotypical Soccer Mom car. So how will the all-electric EX90 be received among the soccer pitches of Orange County?

time-read
7 mins  |
October 2024
THE THEORYOF EVOLUTION
BBC TopGear India

THE THEORYOF EVOLUTION

Ridged bladder seats, an inflating steering wheel and an AI track day coach... has Lotus hit on the supercar’s future, or gone mad’?

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2024