PoloDriver

The Volkswagen Polo now has more reason to celebrate in 2025! Alongside the marking of its 50th birthday, it has been named the Best Car of the Half Century as part of the Best Cars of the Year – The New Car World Championships. It is the second consecutive year a Volkswagen has scooped the prize, the Golf being the 2024 recipient, the same year it celebrated its 50th anniversary.

The Best Car of the Half Century title plays a significant role in the annual British Motor Show, which this year is due to take place at the Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre on 15-17 August. Visitors to the event will be able to see the Polo, and learn why it has been the supermini of choice for millions of people for the past 50 years.

The New Car World Championships judging panel responsible for the award comprises a who’s who of international motoring experts, including auto industry figureheads, automotive consultants, broadcasters, car designers and engineers, journalists, media professionals, motor club chiefs, motoring event organisers, motorsport personalities, and vehicle retailers.

Five decades of success
The award recognises five decades of success for the Volkswagen Polo, and judge, automotive journalist Mike Rutherford, who founded the awards, said, ‘The 20 million motorists who’ve been buying Volkswagen Polos since 1975 can’t be wrong. It’s been the most consistently credible supermini of the past 50 years and has repeatedly hit the sweet spot in terms of design, overall dimensions, build quality, competitive retail pricing, efficiency and low standing and running costs.

‘It’s a real-world car for budget-conscious, real-world motorists who appreciate the affordability and durability of their long-lasting Polos. And it’s fair to say that since the birth of the Mk 1 version in 1975, it has grown in size, stature and market relevance. No longer is a Polo a basic supermini to be driven on tight, slow streets, in busy towns and cities across the world. At more than four metres long in its current Mk 6 guise, it’s more of a small, credible, and borderline premium-quality family hatchback.’

(Well-said Mike.)

Rod McLeod, director of Volkswagen UK, said, ‘We are all delighted to see the Polo claim this award; it’s a great way to kick off its 50th anniversary celebrations. The Polo is not just a pioneer in terms of technical innovations, but also represents affordable mobility for all. These attributes and values are as relevant and as important to customers today as they were half a century ago, and we believe that’s why our evergreen supermini has stood the test of time.’

Most successful model
More than 20 million Polos have been sold worldwide since its debut, and it has established itself as one of the most successful models in its class. Now exclusively built in South Africa for the local market, and for export to Europe, the Polo is also built in Anchieta and Taubaté in Brazil, and in China by SAIC Volkswagen. The supermini was also produced for a decade in India, in Volkswagen’s Pune plant.

As well as being popular with everyday motorists in its road car guise, the Polo has also been a phenomenally successful motorsport star. The almost unstoppable four-wheel-drive, 300bhp Polo R WRC secured four World Rally Championship titles in a row from 2013 to 2016.

During 2024, 166,304 new Volkswagen passenger vehicles were registered in the UK, making the marque the country’s most popular new car brand for the fourth year running. Almost 29,000 of those were Polos, second only to the Golf (32,370) among Volkswagen sales in the UK last year. The Polo was also the 20th most popular car in Europe last year, with 135,303 examples finding new homes.

Further to the announcement of the start of its celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Polo, Volkswagen has released more details of the cars that will be on its stand at the upcoming Bremen Classic Motorshow, from 31 January to 2 February.

The Oceanic Blue Polo L has already appeared in Volkswagen’s press release announcing that the company is marking five decades of its evergreen supermini, but it will be joined by a rare hillclimbing Polo, dating from 1977. We’re unsure as to whether the car is owned by Volkswagen Classic, but whoever’s car it is, excitingly, it’s an early Polo we’ve not seen before. A racer for around 20 years, the Bali Green motorsport machine underwent a two-year restoration before it took to the track again in 2022 at the Osnabrück hillclimb, an event which forms part of the FIA International Hill Climb Cup.

Touch of menace
Devoid of any massive spoilers, the wheelarch extensions really pop against the Polo’s simple
and beautifully drawn lines. The front air dam adds a touch of menace, while inside, although the flock-covered dashboard is (barely) recognisable as that of a first-generation Polo, the tough-looking roll-cage points to this Polo’s non-road car life. Other nods to motorsport include the 107bhp, 1300cc engine – almost as much as an early Polo Coupé GT G40, and nearly double that of the 1979, 60bhp Polo GT – and a top speed of 94mph (believe us, that’s more than enough in a first-generation Polo!). Its lowered ride height – compare the headlamp heights of it and the standard Polo in the first image – and body addenda also give it a much tougher stance.

In contrast, the Polo L looks delicate and elegant. This car is from 1975, the first year of Polo production, and this is also recognisable by the colour. Restored by Volkswagen Classic for the launch of the sixth-generation Polo in 2017, it is a perfect example of an early model in more deluxe L-specification, which included chrome-plated bumpers, side trim and door insert strips, and VW grille badge, as well as reversing lights, a two-speed fan blower, full carpeting – the basic Polo made do with full rubber matting – and a passenger sun visor. Power came from a four-cylinder, 37bhp 895cc engine. Even with a weight of just 685kg, performance was best described as ‘leisurely’. Top speed was 82mph.

Increased popularity
Launched as the final piece of the new water-cooled Volkswagen jigsaw, the Polo followed the Passat, Scirocco, and Golf to market, although had appeared the year prior to its debut as the Audi 50. While the small Audi died a quiet death in 1978, the Polo’s better sales and increased popularity ensured it lived on, but few could have predicted it would still be here 50 years after it arrived. With more than 20 million sales, it must rank as one of the most popular small cars ever, so it’s very pleasing it will see its time in the spotlight online and at events during 2025.

Both the Oceanic Blue Polo L and the hillclimb Polo will be star attractions on the Volkswagen Classic stand – D08 in Hall 5 – at the Bremen Classic Motorshow from 31 January to 2 February. One of the most important events for classic vehicles at the beginning of the year, the show usually attracts numerous visitors from all over Europe. Around 50,000 visitors are expected to take in the classic car atmosphere this year.

For those not in attendance, we hope that Volkswagen brings the cars out once more. And if you can’t venture to northern Germany next weekend, then Volkswagen has produced a celebratory brochure marking the Polo’s big milestone: download here. Further materials can be found in the Volkswagen Newsroom.

Volkswagen UK is looking to banish the winter blues and get the Polo’s 50th anniversary year off to a sweet start by offering Polo-shaped cookies on social media ‘Blue Monday’, which in 2025, falls on 20 January.

To be in with a chance of receiving one, all you have to do is to leave a comment on any of Volkswagen UK’s social media platform accounts – Facebook, Instagram and TikTok – on 20 January stating which Volkswagens make you smile (no guessing which one it would be for us…). A limited number of free cookies are on offer, with winners being selected at random.

All of the iced Polo cookies are designed, made and supplied by online baker Luluz Treats, and the giveaway is open to entrants aged 18 or over and who live in the UK; full terms and conditions are on the relevant Volkswagen UK social media platform accounts.

Volkswagen states, ‘Blue Monday is said to be one of the most depressing days of the year, because it coincides with dark winter days, post-Christmas money worries and the failure of many people’s new year resolutions. It usually falls on the third Monday of the year, which this year is Monday 20 January.’

‘It’s only three weeks since most of us were enjoying the warm post-Christmas glow and also celebrating the start of 2025, but the winter blues are making all that feel like a distant memory for some people,’ said Fiona Jones, social media manager at Volkswagen UK. ‘We hope our cookie giveaway helps to alleviate that and spreads a little Polo 50th birthday joy this January.’

If you want a Polo cookie – and come on, who doesn’t! – look out for the giveaway posts on Volkswagen UK’s Facebook, Instagram and TikTok social media accounts.

This year was always going to be a notable one for the Volkswagen Polo. First launched in March 1975, VW’s evergreen supermini celebrates its 50th birthday in 2025. And pleasingly, for Polo enthusiasts the world over, Volkswagen is officially celebrating this achievement with appearances of special and significant vehicles from its Classic heritage department throughout this anniversary year. (The Polo even gets its own celebratory logo!)

Throughout those five decades, the Polo has often upheld the quality benchmark honour in the small car class, and has democratised many innovations usually seen on larger vehicles. It has also outlived almost all of its market rivals – most notably the Ford Fiesta launched in 1976 – as it has transitioned through six generations and a 20 million-example production run.

Polo I: 1975-1981
Following the introduction of the technologically advanced water-cooled family of vehicles in the early 1970s, designed to replace the aging air-cooled Beetle, the first-generation Polo was the final piece of the new model jigsaw. Based on the Audi 50 that arrived in 1974, its pretty shape, high quality levels, refined engines, and more affordable price helped guarantee its success. By the time production ended in 1981, more than 1.1 million had been produced at Volkswagen’s parent Wolfsburg factory.

Polo II: 1981-1994
As is typical at Volkswagen, evolution rather than revolutions has been the name of the game, over those intervening five decades. More modern engines, increased space and a three-car family – the ‘estate’ car-looking hatchback, the sporty coupé with its more sloping tail, and the traditionally styled three-box saloon – arrived with the introduction of the second-generation Polo in September 1981. A high level of power came in 1985 with the launch of the limited-run Polo Coupé GT G40 with its ‘G-Lader’ scroll-type supercharger, and in 1990, Volkswagen’s small car was the first in its class to be available with catalytic converter technology and fuel injection.

Polo III: 1994-2002 and Polo IV: 2002-2009
The third-generation Polo of 1994 brought a five-door bodystyle for the first time, and was one of the first small cars to be fitted with airbags, increasing the Polo’s reputation for safety. Building on the success of its Golf bigger brother, a full-blooded Polo GTI appeared in 1998. In 2002, the fourth-generation Polo innovated further with front and side airbags, ABS and power steering as standard, and was the first Volkswagen model to feature FSI (Fuel Stratified Injection) engine technology.

Polo V: 2009-2017
In terms of popularity, the fifth-generation Polo of 2009 shines brightly, with 6.1 million examples built. This model heralded the arrival of infotainment systems, and driver assistance technology, as well as TSI (Turbocharged Stratified Injection) engines. Active Cylinder Management (ACT) engine technology also made its debut on the Polo V, with the four-cylinder engines able to shut down two cylinders under light loads to improve economy and lessen tailpipe emissions without the need for hybrid assistance. The car was also a hugely successful motorsport star – the Polo R WRC won the World Rally Championship title an amazing four times in a row from 2013 – and was embraced by more global markets, such as India, in 2010.

Polo VI: 2017-current
The current and sixth-generation Polo arrived in 2017, and is based on the modular transverse matrix (MQB), ushering in higher levels of connectivity, safety and driving dynamics. Updated in 2021 with more digital technology, the current model has assistance and comfort systems that are usually reserved for cars from higher vehicle classes.

Updated 2025 Polo
Along with the parade of classic Polos to be showcased at events during 2025, speaking to UK publication Autocar in late 2024, Kai Grünitz, Brand Board Member for Technical Development at Volkswagen Passenger Cars, confirmed the Polo will get an ‘extensive update’ this year, happily coinciding with the anniversary celebrations. This follows the welcome – and perhaps surprising – confirmation that the Polo will live on until at least 2030 due to the softening of Euro 7 exhaust emission regulations.

Alongside these developments, there is the imminent – late 2025 – arrival of the smallest electric Volkswagen yet, currently christened ID 2, and said to look very close to the ID 2all concept car of 2023. With some rumours suggesting Volkswagen’s electric car ‘ID’ sub-brand nomenclature may be dropped altogether, or that future zero-emission versions of current nameplates may adopt an ‘ID’ prefix to aid the transition to an all-electric VW model family – ‘ID Golf’ for example – recent media reports hint the ID 2 may well be called ID Polo, but we’ll await confirmation until official details are released.

Half-century milestone
Volkswagen celebrated 50 years of the Passat in 2023, five decades of the Golf in 2024, and now it’s the Polo’s turn to bask in the commemorative spotlight as it marks its half-century milestone. It’s exciting to learn Volkswagen Classic will present historic Polo models from its collection during the car’s anniversary year. The first opportunity for Polo fans to celebrate will be at the Bremen Classic Motorshow from 31 January to 2 February, where a 1975 Polo L in the rare Oceanic Blue paint colour will be displayed, along with what Volkswagen Classic states is a ‘unique hillclimb Polo’ from 1977.

We cannot wait, and are planning to run a series of special anniversary themed features here on PoloDriver.com. Join us in a year of celebration!

PoloDriver.com editor Rich Gooding tells the story of how an original 1970s Polo ended up being parked on the Cartier Style et Luxe lawn at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed

The words ‘Polo’ and ‘Goodwood Festival of Speed’ rarely, if ever, appear in the same sentence. So it was with great excitement that I opened an email from one of the organising team of the UK’s – the world’s – greatest motorsport festival.

In addition to the obvious action of cars speeding up the hill in front of Goodwood House, the four-day event has static displays, too, the most prestigious area being the Cartier Style et Luxe lawn, which usually features priceless supercars and vintage machinery on the grass next to Lord March’s country house. For 2024, one section of the lawn was to celebrate the work of car designer Marcello Gandini, who worked for Italian styling house Bertone, and was said to have had a hand in the Audi 50 of 1974, which became the original Volkswagen Polo.

Unmolested example
I feel this may be too laboured a point, as numerous stories haven’t confirmed the authenticity of this claim, but Goodwood wanted a car for the lawn, so around two months before the event, tasked me with the task of finding an unmolested example of Volkswagen’s pretty 1970s supermini. One lead sadly didn’t happen, so a post on a couple of now almost-defunct Polo forums resulted in Stuart Turner’s gorgeous 84,000-mile Manila Green 1977 Polo L being picked for the event.

Having seen it on Thursday 11 July when the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed opened its gates, the car looked perfect, with all the period details present and correct. Stuart has done a fantastic job in restoring the car to a period specification and, placed near one entrance/exit gate, it was attracting as much attention as the Lamborghini Miura and Countach parked just a few feet away.

It has been a genuine honour to see a Polo at such a prestigious event, and if you’d like to catch a glimpse of Stuart’s immaculate Polo at Goodwood, head to the Cartier Style et Luxe lawn. The 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed started on 11 July, and runs through the rest of the weekend of 13-14 July at the Goodwood Estate near Chichester in the UK.