Report: No Volkswagen Polo R for you!

If you thought that Audi's adaption of the A1's platform for all-wheel drive would open the door for an AWD version of the Volkswagen Polo as well, think again. Although the A1 and the Polo share the same platform, the latest reports indicate that Volkswagen has no plans to apply the technology for an all-wheel-drive variant of the CrossPolo or a hotter Polo R.

This platform was never intended to accommodate all-wheel drive, but Audi saw it fit to tweak things in order to accommodate a Quattro version of the A1. The potential had sparked speculation about how this could be adapted for Volkswagen use, but according to reports, VW feels that a Polo R – with AWD or without – would crowd the already limited space between the above-pictured Polo GTI and the Golf GTI. Meanwhile, the automaker says that the soft-road CrossPolo is already popular enough in front-wheel-drive form, and even with Audi already laying the groundwork, the added expense of adapting the high-riding Polo to all-wheel drive wouldn't be worth the return.

[Source: Autocar]