PoloDriver

Remember Michael Dreisbach’s immaculate Riad Yellow 1977 Polo L that we featured recently? Well, now we’ve got a little more information about the exhibition in which it features. In cooperation with German motoring magazine Auto Bild Klassik and 14 car clubs, AutoMuseum Volkswagen is looking for the ‘Super-VW’, a car which is deemed the best out of 14 historic Volkswagens. And Michael’s stunning early Polo is one of the cars in contention.

From 19 November 2011 until 29 February 2012, visitors to the Dieselstrasse museum can choose their favourite ‘Super-VW’, and the readers of Auto Bild Klassik are also eligible to vote – the 14 competition entrants will be profiled in the 01/2012 issue of the magazine, on sale on 2 December. Both air and water-cooled models are represented and are the most orginal examples of their kind, hand-picked from the clubs taking part in the competition.

Michael Dreisbach’s Polo has provided wedding transport for Michael and his bride Heike (they met while at a Polo show in 2001), and the front passenger seat was removed in order to get the bride’s dress inside comfortably. A short friend then drove the pair to the church! The car was owned by the same lady owner for 30 years, and has never been restored. The full list of ‘Super-VW’s includes: 1945 W Porsche Eigenbau, 1955 Beetle 1200 Cabriolet, 1963 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet, 1971 411 E, 1972 Type 2 ‘Fire’ van, 1972 K70 L, 1974 Passat Variant, 1976 Rabbit, 1976 Beetle 1303 Cabriolet, 1977 ‘Black-White’ Scirocco, 1977 Polo L, 1984 Santana CX, and 2003 Beetle 1600i. We’re heading off to Wolfsburg soon, and so hope to see Michael and Heike’s stunning car for ourselves.

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…’

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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]