Volkswagen Brings Back Polo Harlequin With One-off Concept

Published on January 21, 2021 in News by Guillaume Rivard

Tired of cars looking like fifty shades of grey? Here’s a new concept that will put a smile on your face and bring back good memories.

Volkswagen’s Dutch division has just resurrected the famed Polo Harlequin of the mid-1990s (and similarly the Golf Harlequin sold in North America) by applying the same multi-coloured treatment to the modern Polo available in Europe. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

The four bright colours—Chagall Blue, Ginster Yellow, Pistachio Green and Tornado Red—are inspired from a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle ad that depicted a multi-colored Beetle, touting its easily interchangeable parts over many model years. 

Photo: Volkswagen

The original Polo Harlequin was initially slated for a small production run, but it created enough demand on its own that around 3,100 units were ultimately built.

Due to the buzz in Europe, Volkswagen decided to manufacture a limited series of Harlequin-inspired Golf hatchbacks for the North American market in 1996. It’s believed that just over 110 of the 264 copies are still on the road.

Photo: Volkswagen

This time, however, Volkswagen has no intention to sell the car as it’s merely a one-off replica paying tribute to the classic. Maybe some fans will be lucky enough to admire it up close while touring a museum in the Netherlands or elsewhere.  

Colour us jealous once again. In case you didn’t know already, the new eighth-gen Golf won’t be sold in Canada in base trim. We will only get the Golf GTI and Golf R.

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