By this time tomorrow we could see the World Rally Championship mathematically won by Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sebastien Ogier on home soil tarmac at Rally France. Unlike most rounds of the World Rally Championship, Rally France will open with the ‘Power Stage’ which gives drivers the chance to win additional championship points. With Ogier needing just one…
Category: Volkswagen
2013 Frankfurt Motor Show Photo Highlights
EngageSportMode couldn’t be at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show but, fortunately, it knows some people who are. So with the press days now out of the way, what are some of the highlights from the 2013 Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung? Below are some of the stand out new cars announced at this year’s show. Some are purely…
New – Volkswagen Golf R
The hot-hatch arms race ramped up another notch today, as photos and information about the latest Golf R were released. The headlines are the promise of 300 PS and a possible 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds. Volkswagen seems to be putting all the attention grabbing emphasis on the mechanical, as the outside of the…
Volkswagen wins 2013 Rally Finland!
Continuing the Volkswagen Motorsport domination of the 2013 World Rally Championship the team, and Sebastien Ogier, can now add Finland to those already notched up. Ogier had finished day one of the rally in second place, but made his move on Friday to stake out a 38 second lead going into today’s final stages. He…
Two Spoke Steering Wheels – The resurgence
Over the past week EngageSportMode has noticed a revival in something quite old-fashioned, that we thought we’d previously seen the last of. No, it’s not the announcement of another new MG model, but two spoke steering wheels in modern cars. BMW’s brand new electric i3 features a duo-spoker in its futuristic eco-friendly interior. To be…
Top Gear Review – Series 20, Episode 5
After the mixed up message from the previous week’s episode, including the media fallout from parts of the Hover Van segment being staged, what would number five bring? As usual, contains spoilers (of the pop-up kind too). Top Gear Series 20, Episode 5 – UK Air Date 28th July 2013 Some people have already labelled…
Why the Volkswagen XL1 is better than a Le Mans racer
Volkswagen is currently making a lot of noise about this: If you didn’t already know, that’s the Volkswagen XL1, currently the world’s most fuel-efficient hybrid car in regular production. EngageSportMode isn’t usually a fan of eco-cars, but the design details of the XL1 mean that it feels less hair shirt and more Nomex overalls than…
EngageSportMode Shares the R-Line Love
If you just cannot get enough of hearing about my Polo R-Line, but would rather read about it elsewhere, then you prayers have been answered. Over the coming months I’ll be documenting my ownership of the R-Line over at PoloDriver.com But in all seriousness, I am genuinely honoured to have been asked to contribute to…
Friday Photo from the Archives #7
Some car ideas work better in certain places than others. Some, such as the BMW 5-Series GT, don’t really seem to work at all – at least not in America that’s for sure. The Volkswagen Jetta (or Bora/Vento/Golf with a boot) is one of those propositions that has never really taken the UK by storm….
Volkswagen’s Crazy Power-Pickup Amorak Concept
If you hadn’t noticed, and it has been kept well hidden, EngageSportMode is a little bit of a fan of Volkswagens. ESM also happens to be a fan of pickup trucks, stemming from a lifelong aim to own a Dodge Ram or other huge American truck. So the unveiling of the Amarok by VW a…
Friday Photo From the Archives #6
Ok, I apologise. The title for this post is actually rather misleading, as the featured content is neither a photograph or particulary old. However, I do not care. A couple of months ago we brought you the epic work of FS Aviation and their drone cameras from the Monte-Carlo Rally. Well, the guys have been…
New Volkswagen up! Special Editions
EngageSportMode is a genuine fan of the Volkswagen up!. When we tested the base-model Take up! last year, we were hugely impressed with its value for money, perky performance and VW quality. We suggested that should you want a new city-car, you had no other viable option. It’s also worth pointing out that we were…
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