The evil motley
05/28/2025
It bangs, roars, squeals, stinks and smokes - the shortest test drive of the day was perhaps also the most impressive. Because the VW Polo GTI R5 only has the color scheme in common with the special model from 1995. Whereas in the standard Harlequin, a well-behaved 55 hp from 1.4 liters pulls the front wheels rather sedately, a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder rages in the rally car, converting its 272 hp into acceleration quite vehemently thanks to all-wheel drive and an ultra-short gear ratio.
So vehemently, in fact, that VW only released the passenger seat for the invited journalists at the 50th anniversary celebrations for the VW Polo. This naturally caused some disappointment at first. But driven by an expert hand and a heavy foot, the GTI R5 was able to show its full potential even in a small parking lot - including a handbrake turn, four-wheel drift and even a jump. We normal drivers would have made fools of ourselves. And that would not have been appropriate for the car, despite the paintwork.
