Giving a serious international flavour to the Simola Hillclimb will be the presence of renowned Rallycross driver, Petter Solberg, and the Polo R WRX Supercar, showing off some of the best driving skills and racing car tech currently in the world.
With two Drivers’ titles and two Teams’ FIA World Championship wins, the Polo R WRX Supercar is arguably the most successful race car of the modern Rallycross era.
Volkswagen Motorsport has announced the line-up of drivers and cars that will be competing in the annual Simola Hillclimb racing event. Now in its 13th year, the Simola Hillclimb event will take place from 4 to 7 May 2023.
Petter Solberg’s partnership with Volkswagen started in 2017 when he set up the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team in partnership with Volkswagen Motorsport. Solberg won the Team's Championship in both 2017 and 2018 before his retirement from full-time racing. We are thrilled to have Petter come out of retirement to race for us in South Africa,” said Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport.
But just how powerful and quick is this super Polo? The Polo R WRX Supercar develops 419 kW of power with a torque peak of 650 Nm. The four-cylinder engine is coupled to a sequential, six-gear racing transmission and it takes just 1.9 seconds to complete the 0 – 100 km/h sprint… quicker that an F1 race car or a MotoGP bike, according to most info.
The Volkswagen Motorsport line-up this year will also include its factory drivers, Jonathan Mogotsi and Daniel Rowe, who will be competing in the new Golf 8 R. The Golf 8 R’s drive output is generated by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder EA 888 engine.
The Golf 8 R accelerates to 100 km/h in just 4.8 seconds with the top speed of 250 km/h. The Golf 8 R impresses with the combination of 400 Nm of torque, cutting-edge running gear and the most progressive all-wheel drive in its class.
Graeme Nathan will be the fourth driver representing Volkswagen Motorsport. Last year, Graeme came a close second in the Class B2 finals in one of the closest margins in the history of the Simola Hillclimb – 0.016 seconds. He will once again be competing in the Polo SupaCup racing car this year.
Volvo Car South Africa (VCSA) is closing Transport Month with a historic milestone in electric mobility: the EX30 Cross Country has become the first fully electric vehicle (BEV) to successfully ascend Sani Pass, one of South Africa’s most iconic and demanding mountain routes.
The name tells the story – Basadi Automotive Group. Basadi, the Sesotho word for women, was chosen by a woman who, against all odds but with an unwavering belief in God, decided in 2018 or so to go it alone in the male-dominated automotive industry.
Stellantis has announced a new collaboration with NVIDIA, Uber Technologies Inc and Foxconn to explore the joint development and future deployment of *Level 4 (driverless) autonomous vehicles for robotaxi services worldwide.
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If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.
Bob Hooey
Stellantis has announced a new collaboration with NVIDIA, Uber Technologies Inc and Foxconn to explore the joint development and future deployment of *Level 4 (driverless) autonomous vehicles for robotaxi services worldwide.
BAIC South Africa has confirmed that the all-new BAIC B30 SUV will be assembled locally at the company’s Coega facility in Gqeberha. This step, says BAIC, marks another significant step in the brand’s long-term commitment to the South African market.
Messe Frankfurt expands its roster of shows with a Festival of Motoring in Australia and industry shows in Jakarta and Azerbaijan.
