SXDRV REVIEW: MIKE'S POLO WRC
Here at SXdrv, in the spirit of all things automotive, we've decided to showcase some of South Africa's best vehicles – but we have to start somewhere – so we roped our very own photographer, and rather large car enthusiast, Mike, into giving us his own history, with an unexpected surprise at the end.
As per all good motoring photo/videographer's, Mike is passionate and knowledgeable about about all things cars. In fact, there's hardly a conversation to be had at the office that doesn't end in discussing anything from the merits of the Nissan 200SX to the size of the spacers required for your wheels when you upgrade your brake disks.
In a brief moment of insanity, SXdrv's Roscoe thought he'd sit around the campfire and get Mike to travel back in time and tell us where this crazy car obsession started – and then, as is par for the course with us at SXdrv, things take a hilarious (for us) yet unfortunate (for Mike) turn.
Diving right into it, Roscoe asked him to go into detail – from what sparked his interest, to why he ended up with his latest cabbie, a 2011 Volkswagen Polo GTI 6R. According to Mike, he started driving when he was just 11, a banged-up old Ford Cortina pick-up truck on the plot of land his parents owned. "My mom was always annoyed because I used to tear up the grass she spend weeks trying to grow."
When he finally got his license, Mike's firsts car was a 1982 K70 Toyota Corolla that he drove for a couple of years before "upgrading to a 2008 VW Citi Golf. I spent a ton of time on upgrades, like... blah blah blah..."
Eventually, it was time to move on though, and this is where we introduce you to his current mode of transport.
Mike explains what it's all about; "So, it's a twin-charged 1.4 TSI 2011 VW Polo GTI 6R," that's the one with both a supercharger and turbo for those who don't know. "I was actually looking at getting an older model Ford Focus or a Golf 5 GTI but then a friend of mine saw this one and convinced me to go for a test drive. I ended up buying it the same day."
It didn't stay stock for long. "Most of the changes are cosmetic as I thought I'd enjoy it stock for a while. I was inspired by the limited edition run: the Polo WRC R, and managed to source the OEM WRC R front bumper and WRC Emblems. I then added carbon fibre side mirrors from VageCafe and the 17" Turn 1 Monza Rims.
"There's also an MST cold-air intake and VWR lowering springs, and last but not least, I did a wiper delete of the back blade."
And then it happened. As Roscoe tagged along to hear Mike's why's, how's and when's – all delivered with passion – the whole review came to a screeching halt with Mike's famous last words "... super reliable...".
Yup, that's right. It all ends with a busted turbo and a call to Chris for help, who hilariously arrives in a (notoriously unreliable) Mazda RX-8.
Hit play and let us know what you think of this review. We'd love to cover your ride, so get in touch and let's us see what you've got!