PoloDriver

2011 marks 35 years of the Stanford Hall Volkswagen event, and this year saw the return of fine, sunny and warm weather, absent from 2010’s proceedings. Held on the traditional May Day Bank Holiday weekend, more than a few handfuls of Volkswagens descended upon Swinford-on-Avon (borne out by the fact that getting out of the venue took us at least 30 minutes), to kick-off the VW show season proper. Leicestershire and Warwickshire VW Owners Club once again put on a fantastic show, although if we were nit-picking, the lack of water-cooled trade stands was disappointing, as was the lack of entries in the Polo concours class, but the blame for either point shouldn’t be laid at the organisers’ door.

Overall, the Concours d’Elegance was well-stocked, with ‘classic’ Volkswagens of all classes, shapes and sizes, and it’s traditionally been one of the draws of the event. One of our favourite classes was the Mk 1 Scirocco peg, with a stunningly immaculate 1978 TS model in Viper Green rubbing shoulders with an equally pristine 1979 Storm. Now few and far between, this pair represented the absolute best of the breed. Moving onto Class 18, Polos and Saloons (Derby, Polo Classic), the sole two cars entered were notable not only because of their fantastic condition, but also by the lack of compatriots. The 1980 GLS of classic Polo stalwart Dan Higgins was once again vying for honours, fighting it out with the 2001 Polo GTI of Gianni Ciarciaglini. Ciarciaglini won with 119 points, and we can see why, but after years as a runner-up, it would have nice to have seen Higgins walk away with the top prize. Especially as we thought comparative age was supposed to have come into the judge’s score of 113.

There was a good sprinkling of Polos elsewhere. In the outer reaches of the car park, there were several interesting examples, and along with our editorial GT (no stand for us this year), made walking the formation-parked aisles worthwhile. Inside the show area, Club Polo represented the Polo brand, with a varied display of 10 cars, stretching from Dan Higgins’ other Mk 1 – a 1981 N model with a 100bhp 16V engine – to Jon Gallant’s 2000 Polo TDI. Away from the club stands, a solitary Polo Dune on the Volkswagen Owner’s Club GB caught our eye, as did a mid-1980s ‘rat-look’ Polo C hatchback representing the same organisation. Meanwhile, a Polo trailer made from a rear end of a coupé sold for £450, while numerous Mk 2 Polo coupés seemed to have been brought out of the woodwork to bask in the glorious sunshine. Click on the gallery below to see some of our favourites from Sunday 1 May’s event.

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The mammoth annual classic car event that is Techno Classica Essen, takes place over five days in Essen (no!) in Germany, and 2011’s event from 30 March to 3 April saw, as in previous years, a predictably large Volkswagen Group attendance. As well as official stands from Volkswagen Classic – showing Karmann-based prototypes and vehicles from Osnabrück, including a 1973 Passat, 1974 Scirocco, Series 1 Golf Cabriolet prototype and the premiere of the new Series 6 Golf Cabriolet – Hall 8.1 offered a smattering of VW-brand clubs, and among them, IG Typ 86, and a trio of motorsport Polos. Sebastian Winkler of www.g-lader.info has kindly given us permission to use these photos of the Series 1 Polo track-based wide-arch Polos, and a rally-spec Group H Series 2 Polo G60. More pictures and Sebastian’s HD video of the Techno Classica Essen 2011 event can be found here.

[Images: Sebastian Winkler]

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The Polo G40 celebrated its 25th birthday at the AutoMuseum Volkswagen over the weekend, with a gathering of early Polo G40 fans from all around the world. Around 40 Polo G40s from 1987 and 1989 and their owners were expected at the AutoMuseum Volkswagen on Saturday, coinciding with the first International Polo G40 meeting in Wolfsburg. Owners had their photos taken with their cars at Castle Wolfsburg, setting for the original 1985 Polo G40 press photo (above), before moving onto the AutoMuseum Volkswagen where their vehicles were presented to visitors in the evening. The museum itself presented two special Polos of its own: the 155bhp rear-engined Sprint, and the Ökopolo, an economically-minded study, and a precursor of the modern-day Polo BlueMotion.

Volkswagen developed the 40mm spiral-shaped G-Läder supercharger in 1985, and fitted it to a trio of pre-production G40s to set long-distance speed records. Driven by Volkswagen engineers, motoring journalists and racing drivers, the cars set new 1300cc class records for both speeds over 24 hours (130.08mph) and average speed over 5000km (127.75mph). A production version of the G40 was presented at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show and had the designation Polo GTG40. A limited run of 500 cars with 115bhp became available in 1987 and between 1988 and 1999 a further 1500 models were made, all left-hand drive, and all selling out immediately. The Polo G40 went mainstream in 1990 with the launch of the facelifted Series 2 Polo, available in coupé form only and with 113bhp. It was sold until 1994, when the third-generation Polo was launched.

On 3 July 2010, Volkswagen Classic (the company’s ‘heritage’ division) sent 12 teams to compete in the Youngtimer Tour 2010, a 220km-long road rally organised by German motor magazine Auto Zeitung. Seventy teams took part in the circular run to the Nürburgring from Euskirchen and among Volkswagen’s entries were an example of the stylish Porsche 914 (we’re big fans of the chunky 1970s VW/Porsche baby here at PoloDriver) and a 1973 Apal Buggy. The bulk of the company’s entires were made up of early VWs, though, with old Golfs, Passats and even a K70 joining a classic Polo. Nestled in the exhibits at the Volkswagen exhibition at the Euskirchen start and finish venue were the Eco Racer concept from 2005 and the Golf GTI W12 from 2007.

Only cars built between 1969 and 1990 were eligible to take part in the Youngtimer Tour 2010, and all of Volkswagen’s teams completed the event, the K70 of Volkswagen Executive Vice President Dr Rudolf Krebs, Plant Manager of Salzgitter (and Manager of the brand’s Future for Electric Vehicles division) crossing the line in third place overall. The more modern era of the Volkswagen Group was represented by a Lamborghini Jalpa, a Series 2 VW Scirocco, and a Škoda Fabia vRS. It’s not the first time Volkswagen has entered vintage Polos into road rally events; in 2005 it entered two older examples of its supermini on the Hamburg to Wolfsburg Creme 21 Youngtimer Rallye (pictured above), both of which were taken from the AutoMuseum Volkswagen.

Stiftung AutoMuseum Volkswagen is a special place for Volkswagen fans. Tucked away from the global headquarters of the German giant in a side street in Wolfsburg, its long been a mecca for Volkswagen enthusiasts. How long? 2010 marks 25 years since the innocent-looking building opened its doors to the public, and laid bare its secrets for all to see. Jam-packed to its industrial rafters are Volkswagen Group models of all shapes and sizes, most of them prototypes which have rarely been on public view. A sizable chunk are Beetles of the air-cooled variety, but there really is something for everyone. There’s now more than a handful of Polos, including a Series 1 of 1975, a pair of record-breaking G40 Polo coupés from 1985, and the very first Series 3 Polo from the production line in 1994.

To celebrate Stiftung AutoMuseum Volkswagen’s quarter of a century, its doors are open for a special ‘25 years AutoMuseum Volkswagen’ exhibition. Running until 19 September 2010, it worships the car’s ever-changing role in the culture, economic, social and technological arenas and celebrates its contribution since 1985. Twenty-five specially-selected exhibits tell the story, and to ensure that visitors can see all the jewels in Stiftung AutoMuseum Volkswagen’s crown, its opening hours have been extended. Now accepting visits from 10am to 6pm, if you find yourself visiting the ‘Volkswagen town’ of Wolfsburg, make sure you take a trip to Dieselstrasse. Although there’s a new, purpose built and brilliant car museum – the ‘Zeithaus’ – at nearby VW theme park AutoStadt, you just might uncover something extra special at Stiftung AutoMuseum Volkswagen…

• Keep visiting PoloDriver for a series of features on the different Polo exhibits in Stiftung AutoMuseum Volkswagen