Automotive World

Now that VW has decided to enter the FIA World Rally Championship with the new Polo R WRC, it wants to make sure that it will be competitive from the first race. Consequently, it will enter the championship in 2013, having a full year to test its new car.

However, Consumer Reports [CR], asks a rather intriguing question concerning this issue: are the press cars driven by motoring journalists the same as the ones bought by the public?

It's true that, despite quality control, two cars of the exact same make, model and specification that roll out of the same plant may differ in certain aspects such as fit and finish or actual engine output by a few ponies, but those differences are most of the times imperceptible to the human eye.

Earlier this summer, Volkswagen gave Consumer Reports a 2012 Passat from its press fleet for a first drive. CR's Jon Linkov noticed at the time that, unlike the Jetta, the U.S.-built 2012 Passat sedan's trunk hinges were dressed up in plastic.

Still, if you have your doubts, you can hop over the jump and watch this craftsman in some hammer-time action.

Developed by Volkswagen R GmbH - that is, the same people responsible for the Scirocco R and Golf R models, the Beetle R is said to show “the potential for an ever sportier version of the Beetle”.

The company also claims that the 200HP turbocharged 2.0-liter of the Beetle Turbo “could offer even more performance, similar to that of the Golf R and Scirocco R”.

And while most drivers will experience road rage in some form or another in their driving history, in most cases, these incidents leave only verbal insults ringing in their ears.

But once in a while, you get that crazy driver that will launch a physical attack and then…all hell breaks loose. And that's exactly what happened during this incident, which according to one of our readers, took place in the U.S. Ottawa, Canada.

Following the recently launched FT-86 app by Toyota, Volkswagen of Canada has also released its own interactive app to promote the new 2012 Beetle named "VWJuicedUp".