Rally around the family: Volkswagen spawns road going variant of Polo R WRC

Volkswagen ended years of waiting and has finally released a high performance 'R' variant to its Polo range. Dubbed the Polo R WRC, the release of this limited edition hot hatch coincides with the automaker's entry into the World Rally Championships (WRC). The model is the most powerful street legal Polo that Volkswagen has built yet. 

Heavily inspired by a concept that was presented at the GTI Meeting in Worthersee earlier in the year, the Polo R WRC wears a more aggressive look than the Polo GTI thanks to beefier bumpers all around, a trunk-mounted spoiler and two chromed exhaust tips.

The Polo R WRC is characterised by its blue and grey livery which mimics its rally car sibling. Also, the Polo R WRC gets a lowered suspension, 18-inch 'Cagliari' wheels and massive 16-inch disc brakes gripped by bright blue calipers.

A three-spoke steering wheel and pedals made out of aluminum comes standard to complete the race bred look.

Under the hood lies a 2.0-litre TSI four-cylinder - inherited from the Golf GTI. Linked to a six-speed manual transmission, it sends 220bhp and 350Nm of torque to the front set of wheels, enough to propel the car from 0 to 100km/ in under 6.4 seconds with a top speed in excess of 243km/h.

For all that goodness, the bad news is Volkswagen will build just 2,500 units of the Polo R WRC.