PoloDriver

We thought the AutoMuseum Volkswagen had enough ‘old timer’ Polos in its collection, but we’ve recently heard that another has joined the ranks. Michael Dreisbach’s immaculate Riad Yellow Series 1 Polo L has been installed in VW’s oldest car museum in Dieselstrasse, Wolfsburg (the AutoMuseum Volkswagen opened in 1985) on a temporary loan. The Polo made the 400km journey from Michael’s home under its own steam and without problems. Audi-50.de reports that there should be a news item on the latest acquisition soon on the AutoMuseum Volkswagen website. We’re hopping across to Wolfsburg in the next few weeks as part of a pan-German trip, so we’ll keep an eye out for the latest arrival when we visit.

[Source: Audi-50.de]

Rachel Inglis’ 1981 Derby GLS is just one of her many Polo possessions, totally original and with just 21,000 miles on the clock. Neil Birkitt finds out more about the jewel in the crown of Rachel’s Polo collection

It’s not often that you’ll see a Derby; indeed, you won’t even find much written about it. In fact, the model profile in the February 2008 issue of Volkswagen Driver is about the only significant article that we know of. The Derby was the booted version of the Mk 1 Polo, introduced in 1977 as an LS with a 50bhp 1.1-litre engine and later supplemented in 1980 by the 60bhp 1.3 GLS. Although immensely practical, with a boot as big as that of a contemporary Ford Cortina, the Derby was never particularly popular at the time, and the Volkswagen Driver model profile concluded by saying that it is ‘quite rare now and largely forgotten…’

> Read More

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.

[issuu layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml showflipbtn=true documentid=110312182942-7a4899ea256b4407a94b9c956c79e25f docname=performance_polo_special_issue_1 username=polodriver loadinginfotext=PoloDriver.com%20Performance%20Polo%20Special%3A%20Issue%201%20%C2%AD%20Series%201%20GT%201979-1981 showhtmllink=true tag=autos width=600 height=400 unit=px]

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.]

> Read More