50 years of the VW Polo: The hereditary prince
In 1975, the VW Polo was introduced as a low-cost version of the Audi 50. This was followed by a triumphal march with over 20 million vehicles produced.
(Image: Volkswagen)
- Christian Lorenz
In 1974, Volkswagen, NSU and Audi were in the midst of an economic storm. The outdated rear-wheel drive vehicles were turned inside out with innovative Audi technology. The terminator was Rudolf Leiding, former CEO of Audi NSU Auto Union AG. He did what VW had never thought possible before or since. He stopped all the developments of his predecessor Kurt Lotz and ensured that no VW vehicle was continued apart from the bus. Instead, he focused entirely on Audi technology. The Passat came with front-wheel drive and in 1974 the Golf also had a transverse engine. This made Leiding the great savior of Volkswagen. He had to leave as early as 1975, because such a consistent "one against all" course is not forgiven in Wolfsburg, even if it leads to success.
Goals: plenty of space and agile handling
At the beginning of the 1970s, NSU itself still had an outdated small car with a rear engine in its range, the Prinz, which had long been waiting to be replaced. The aim of Ludwig Kraus, Chief Technical Officer of Audi NSU Auto Union AG, and his employees was to use the latest findings in small car construction to provide plenty of space in the smallest possible dimensions as well as safe and agile handling. Therefore, a transverse engine, front-wheel drive, hatchback with large tailgate and folding rear seat bench were the order of the day.
Initially, the Prinz successor was to be called the NSU K50 - in other words, an entry-level model below the K70. The K stands for conventional reciprocating pistons, whereas the Ro80 had rotary pistons (Ro). Hartmut Warkuß drew the exterior in the style of his Audi 100 and Audi 80 designs, based on designs by Marcello Gandini, which were commissioned from Bertone. The basic shape remained the same. However, Gandini had already designed the front and rear in solid plastic with integrated bumpers, very similar to the Fiat Ritmo much later. This was too avant-garde for Warkuß. The Audi 50 was the entry-level model in the Audi range.
Vorgeschichte (10 Bilder)
Audi
)Slimmed-down "little Audi"
Weighing just 680 kg, the "little Audi" was powered by a 1.1-liter engine in two power levels with 50 and 60 ps. Volkswagen wanted to offer an inexpensive entry-level model below the Golf and opted for an economy model of the Audi 50. The new model was called the Polo and was powered by an Audi 50 engine with a throttled displacement of 0.9 liter and 40 ps. The equipment was cut almost to the pain threshold. Even the folding rear seat was withheld from the Polo base model. Unlike the Audi 50, it could only be removed.
Where the Audi 50 had carpets, the cheapest Polo was only fitted with rubber mats. A sun visor or a door lock on the passenger side also fell victim to the very ambitious red pencil. The front passenger door could only be locked and unlocked from the inside. However, there was also a Polo L, which was comparable to the entry-level Audi 50 LS in terms of equipment - and also sold significantly better. Audi discontinued the 50 in 1978, so from this date there was also a top-of-the-range Polo GLS with a 1.3-liter engine, 60 ps and an equipment level similar to the Audi 50 GLS.
VW Polo I (12 Bilder)
Volkswagen
)Complete NSU development
The new 1.3-liter engine delivered the same performance as the previous top-of-the-range 1.1-liter engine. Unlike the latter, however, the new top-of-the-range engine was designed to run on regular petrol, although this came at the cost of higher fuel consumption compared to its predecessor. From today's perspective, the Audi 50 and the original Polo appear to be very tasteful small cars. However, it is surprising that Volkswagen presented a compact car that was only three centimetres shorter with an almost identical wheelbase in the same year as the very similar Golf I and, despite a technically almost identical layout, completely dispensed with identical parts and synergies. Platform thinking apparently did not yet exist at that time, as the developments had been carried out completely independently by the two brands.
Around 753,000 of the first Polo were produced by 1981. A good 180,000 units of the Audi 50 were also produced. These are ridiculous figures compared to the Golf, which sold over four million units in the same period. Nevertheless, the Polo I was a commercial success for Volkswagen. This even applied to its notchback counterpart, the Derby, which was aimed primarily at senior citizens with better equipment and conservative looks.
Polo II with hatchback
In 1981, the original Polo (internally: Type 86) was replaced by its successor (Type 86C). The Polo II did not reinvent the wheel and adopted much of the technology and layout of its predecessor. The VW developers took a very engineering approach to the Polo. For example, the rear was given a steep boxy shape like a classic estate car. This was the technically simplest way to create more interior space. Right from the start, the new model appeared even more sober than the old one. It thus followed in the footsteps of the original Polo: utility value without frills. For many customers at the beginning of the 1980s, this was a touch too little emotional. By the time the Fiat Uno and Peugeot 205 came onto the market in 1983 and the second generation of the Renault 5 in 1984, the Polo looked like a fun-free commercial vehicle.
However, VW had already made some adjustments, and from 1982 - in response to many customer requests - the Polo was available in a prettier version with a hatchback angle similar to its predecessor. This somewhat ridiculously named "Polo Coupé" body version immediately became the best-selling Polo variant. It was also available with a 75 ps top-of-the-range engine and slightly sporty trim, the Polo GT. The name was a reminiscence of the original Polo, which had already been available in the 60 ps version after the facelift in 1979 as the "Polo GT" with a slightly sporty trim. The Polo II had essentially taken over the other engines from 40 to 60 psfrom its predecessor.
Polo II (13 Bilder)
Volkswagen
)G40 initially as a small series
In August 1985, a new über-Polo was launched. In the G40, the 1.3-liter engine was powered by a G-charger, a special supercharger design. Initially 85, later 83 kW and around 150 Nm of torque turned the staid Polo into a hot small car. A top speed of almost 200 km/h was easily enough to leave many a sedan in its wake. With a standard sprint time of around 8.5 seconds, a G40 is still a pretty fast car today.
Originally, the car was only intended as a homologation model for a junior racing series and was limited to 500 units. VW had underestimated the desirability that the hot hatch on Golf 1 GTI tracks was able to generate among solvent customers. The Group responded with another special series, now comprising 1500 units. But this time, too, the rush was so overwhelming that the purchase options were raffled off at the end. Nevertheless, the G40 did not make it into the regular Polo sales program until the facelift model in 1991. Here the G-Lader was still relatively reliable, albeit not very durable. The full-bodied VW statement that the supercharger was maintenance-free turned out to be an expensive own goal. The truth was that after 40,000 km the supercharger had to be replaced, or at least refurbished. However, neither wear and tear nor damage to the image were as great as with the more powerful G60 with a larger turbocharger, which was installed in the Golf, Passat and Corrado.
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When the Polo II received an extensive facelift in 1990, it became a better car. The large rectangular headlights alone gave it a noticeably higher light output. Basically, the same applied to the facelift as to the entire second Polo generation. It was primarily about technical optimization of the original Polo. By the end of the 1994 model cycle, however, the Polo looked really old. This was particularly true of its Derby counterpart. The Fiat Punto, Renault Clio and Ford Fiesta were already much more grown-up and luxurious, or at least more charming. At least that is the subjective opinion of the author.
Polo III with platform strategy, GTI and Harlequin
In this respect in particular, I thought the leap to the third generation Polo 6N was huge. At the time, I drove a second-series Fiat Uno, built in 1992, and the new Polo seemed to me to have a similar design language, i.e. very elegant. But the Polo seemed even more modern and, above all, of higher quality. In addition, the Polo was now available as a five-door model for the first time. For the first time, Volkswagen relied entirely on a platform and common parts strategy. Many components were the same in the Polo 6N, Golf III and Seat Ibiza II.