Volkswagen is known primarily for the Beetle and the GTI in America. However, over in Europe, they sell a smaller hatchback called the Polo. And while it hasn’t received the same crazy attention from the modding community, it’s fair to say that this Polo supercar rendering from Hycade will get enthusiasts excited.
He’s created basically the most exciting Polo footage on the internet. And it’s a little sad that the car isn’t real and probably can’t be built. You see, Hycade‘s idea of a VW Polo is a widebody hatch with the engine out of an Audi R8 V10 located at the back.
Not only that but he’s created a widebody kit around the 3D shell of the Mk5 Polo. The car is downright scary from the back, where about a foot has been added to the track and bodywork. The V10 sucks air through what used to be the windows, while a wing creates an aero experience fit for Pikes Peak.
Volkswagen enthusiasts know that such a car has actually been built in the past. The MK5 Golf GTI received the W12 engine from a Bentley with 650 hp, as well as a widebody conversion to appease the hardcore fans gathered at the Worthersee GTI Meet in the 2000s.
Other mid-engined hot hatch conversions have existed, the most notable ones being from Renault. However, VW is probably preoccupied with making everything electric right now, and V10-swapping little cars are probably not their top priority. In fact, the Polo might even be discontinued in a few years.
Polo GTI history
Volkswagen has been offering the subcompact Polo model since 1975. The first one was a rebadged version of the Audi 50 and was quite popular, selling half a million units in the first 4 years.
The car became available as a sedan or even a tiny station wagon. It had a few interesting features. However, the main job of the Polo was to be an affordable entry into the Volkswagen family.
That changed in 1995 with the arrival of a limited-production Mk3 Polo GTI, which had a 1.6-liter 16-valve engine producing less than 120 horsepower. But because production was in the low thousands, it wasn’t until the 2005 Mk4 Polo GTI that people began to notice this model.
This was powered by a much more serious 1.8-liter turbo engine making about 150 hp. This had been used previously in the Mk4 Golf GTI and the Audi A6. A GTI Cup Edition was even allowed to nudge 180 hp.
The car in this rendering is the Mk5 Polo, which had three significant sports versions. First came the new GTI in 2010, and this produced the same 180 hp from a smaller 1.4 TSI, which was both supercharged and turbocharged.
The “twin-charged” engine became known for reliability issues, so Polo GTI fans were probably happy to have a new 1.8 TSI in the 2015 model. Power reached 190 hp, and you could have it with a manual, unlike the 1.4-liter.
Finally, there was the limited-edition Polo R WRC, built to celebrate the company’s motorsport success. This came with the 2.0 TSI from its bigger brother, the Golf, and produced 220 hp.
The current Polo GTI came out in 2017 and kept the 2.0 TSI under its hood. However, it lost 20 hp. But it’s still the biggest engine you can have in any subcompact car save for the MINIs.
