PoloDriver

To celebrate the launch of the 2011 Volkswagen Polo GTI, PoloDriver.com delves into the archives to trace the history of the performance Polo. In the first issue of a special series of digital mini-magazines, we focus on the Series 1 Polo GT of 1979-1981. Each issue will focus on the history of the sports variants – GT, G40, and GTI – of each Polo generation, culminating in the introduction of the current 1.4-litre 178bhp Polo GTI. Read the first of our performance Polo special issues by clicking on the magazine graphic below, or if you can’t see the preview, visit this link. Head over to the PoloDriver virtual bookshelf for our previous titles covering the fifth-generation Polo range (including the TSI and BlueMotion) and the smallest Volkswagen, the Fox.

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The latest issue of UK tuned Volkswagen magazine, Performance VW, features a 1979 Series 1 Derby. Nothing unusual in that you may think, but this Riad Yellow Polo saloon is based in the US; the Polo family has never been imported Stateside. Josh Paashaus owns the car and has transplanted a 6N2 Polo GTI 1.6-litre engine into the little notchback, putting out around 125bhp. With extra-large wheel arches covering wide wheels, the car looks fantastically retro but with a little extra menace. The November 2010 issue of Performance VW magazine (edition 169) is on sale now until 11 November.

[Image: Performance VW]

Back in 1979, the Polo GLS was top of Volkswagen’s baby car tree and was quite the luxurious supermini. With chrome trim embellishments and polished hubcaps, the GLS certainly looked more upmarket than its N and L brothers, and Volkswagen claimed it offered ‘a bit more power and a little more style.’ Dan Higgins must have thought so, too, as his plans for modding this particular flawless example soon took a back seat. We caught up with him at the Stanford Hall 2010 event, where he told us his part in PLM 686W’s story

Dan Higgins has been the proud owner of this concours clean 1980 Series 1 Polo GLS for almost two-and-a-half years. Totally standard and original from its polished hubcaps to its dealer sticker in the rear window, the car has just covered over 22,000 miles in 30 years. It very nearly didn’t stay a remarkably unmolested piece of Polo history, though; when he bought the car in November 2008, Dan had all sorts of Euro-look plans brewing, including taking the car to the deck on a set of 13” rims. But, he couldn’t bear to do anything to it. ‘I soon came to realise that this wasn’t going to happen, I just couldn’t do it. The car was immaculate and it would have been a shame to alter such a great example. With the car being in flawless original condition and with only 16,000 miles on the clock, I know I wouldn’t have made many friends if I would have begun to alter the car in the slightest,’ he says.

[Click ‘Read More’ below for gallery of pictures at end of post.]

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We’ve recently updated the Series 1 Polo (1975-1981) heritage and specials pages with a few more historical facts. The original Polo’s first public viewing was at the London Motor Show at Earl’s Court in the autumn of 1975 (or so a period cutting we’ve recently got hold of tells us – note the early pressed steel wheels in the photo above). A year later, the first of two runs of the special Polo Jeans was launched in Europe. In a similar vein to the Jeans Beetle of 1974, the Polo Jeans had denim upholstery, unique badging and a special colour palette. We’ve also done some digging and found out that the car came with wider tyres (depending on which of the 895cc and 1093cc engines were fitted). The first batch of Polo Jeans models appeared in August 1976, the second following in June 1978.

With an estate-like rear end with long rear windows, the Series 2 Polo from 1981 was never a pretty car like the Series 1 from 1975, at least not until the coupé came along two years later. But, what would the Series 1 Polo have looked like if Volkswagen had been Series 2 radical a decade earlier? Over on Flickr, Littlepixel™ has been designing what he calls ‘Photochop’ cars since 2001, and his range of ‘chops include four Series 1 Polo-related models; a rally-inspired Audi 50 quattro, an Audi 50 saloon (think rebadged Volkswagen Derby), and ‘breadvan’ and Dodge Charger-inspired Series 1 Polos. Modified from the original press shots, we think they’re neat, and a glimpse as to what could have been. Head over to Flickr to see both Littlepixel™’s profile and his ‘chops photostream.