VW Ameo Race Car
The Cup
Volkswagen has been promoting motorsports in India since 2010 by starting off with the Polo Cup which gave budding racers a brilliant platform to pursue their ‘Schumacher’ dreams. From then on, VW has been pursuing the motorsports program diligently and gone from the Polo to the Vento and now to the Ameo. But it’s not just the change in cars that signifies progress. From developing the cup cars entirely in Germany to now wholly being developed in India is a massive step. The all-new race machine boasts of major upgrades as compared to its predecessor, starting from the body shell itself all the way to the drivetrain, chassis and electronics.
The Car
How similar is the car to the standard Ameo road car you ask? Chalk and cheese is the answer. The only thing common between the two is the body. The standard engine is replaced by the Polo GTI’s powerplant. The turbocharged, inline 4-cylinder engine displaces 1798 cc and produces 205bhp @ 6100 rpm and 320 Nm between 3200-4600 rpm. Now this is more than the standard Polo GTI too.
To deal with the extra power and reduce shift times, the engine is mated to a 3MO sourced, 6-speed sequential gearbox with steering-mounted paddle shifters. This is a change from the 6 speed DSG used previously. An electro-magnetic actuator has been used in the new race car for quick gear changes. This actuator also comes with the added safety to keep the driver from accidentally changing down extra gears.
The Engine Control Unit by MoTeC is completely new and has been independently calibrated and mapped to suit the new engine and the gearbox control system. The Ameo Cup race car is running a whole new suspension setup along with tyres that have been specifically developed for this car. Braking duties are handled by 334mm ventilated discs at the front that are lifted from the Golf R32 GTI while the rear discs are retained from the Polo GTI along with racing pads. Now that is a serious piece of racing kit.
The Drive
Once you manage to squeeze past the roll-cage and push yourself into those racing seats, you are immediately bound by a four point harness.
Then begins the starting process. I say process because this is literally a 4 stage process. Post the preliminary checks, hitting the starter evokes a rowdy start up. The car is literally growling at idle and it’s not the most pleasant of exhaust notes.
To engage first gear, one needs to depress the clutch, post which the paddles come into the picture. The car being devoid of any luxuries is extremely loud inside and every mechanical cackle can be heard. Once you get into race mode and mash the throttle, the exhaust roar drowns everything else. Acceleration is extremely strong but does not take you aback and that’s because of the loud exhaust which has already prepared you for the rapid acceleration on offer. The gearshifts are lightening quick and not to mention brutal, jerking the car with a loud thud as you bang the gears up and down.
But the real magic begins the moment you hit the first corner. The new race car has different springs at the front and the rear along with torsional beam axle at the rear. The valving of the KW damper has also been developed to suit the new MRF tyres along with the new 17-inch wheels which are lighter than the ones used previously. All these come together to help you take that corner as fast as possible.
Just point the direct steering into the corner, choose your line and explode out of the corners. Enter too hot and the Ameo will just understeer until you back off on the power. No tail happy antics here, the Ameo race car feels fast and safe. The KW suspension are super stiff and the car just bounced around the bumpy sections at Kari, but still felt extremely composed. The brakes are heroic and no matter how late you brake, the bite is sharp and the ABS makes sure you don’t lock it up.
Am I a race driver then?
Far from it. But in the right hands, the Ameo can be an extremely quick tool. It’s the quickest of the cup cars till date is almost 4.6 seconds quicker than its predecessor. For its intended purpose, the race Ameo forms the perfect basis for budding racers to hone their skills and perfect them so they can graduate to faster cars and bigger races. Driving the race Ameo has been an exhilarating experience and I simply cannot wait to have a go and feel like a racer again!
