Osculati 25.703.00 - Bearing Compass on 2040-parts.com

VW Polo R confirmed for 2013

VW Polo WRC makes the case for the 4WD VW Polo R We speculated a year ago that the Polo GTI wouldn’t be the top of the Polo tree, and that Volkswagon would roll out the VW Polo R in 2012, but perhaps with FWD instead of the 4WD its big brother, the Golf R, enjoys. But just a few months later it seemed clear that we would end up getting a 4WD Polo R at some point after Audi lost its bottle at the last minute and pulled the Audi S1 badge off a FWD A1, instead calling it the Audi A1 1.4 TFSI. That change of heart by Audi – saving the S1 badge for a quattro S1 – meant that a quattro platform would be developed for the S1, and as the A1 uses the Polo platform it meant a 4WD platform would be available for the Polo too.

2015 Honda Civic Type R previewed ahead of Geneva

The 2015 Honda Civic Type R Concept (pictured) previewed ahead of a Geneva debut The next Honda Civic Type R isn’t due to arrive until 2015, but Honda are taking a Type R Concept to the Geneva Motor Show next month and are previewing that with a design sketch of the new Type R (above). The Type R at Geneva will be a concept – and as such subject to some slightly OTT elements – but if the production Type R is anywhere near as dramatic as this concept it will look more like a track car set loose on the streets than a road car. A comically big back wing blends in to the Type R’s rear lights, the Type R’s wide track is incorporated with huge wheelarches, there’s a big diffuser in the back bumper and two sets of twin exhaust tail pipes.

Audi R8 e-tron: Killed off before it launches?

It’s being reported that the electric Audi R8 e-tron is close to being killed off before production starts, as Audi question its viability. But it now looks like Audi has finally woken up and seen the light and they have put the R8 e-tron plans on hold indefinitely as they realise there is just no market for an electric car, never mind an electric supercar. Car and Driver are reporting that Audi’s new head of R&D - Wolfgang Dürheime – has halted all work on the R8 e-tron and it seems highly likely the project will be scrapped altogether.