Volkswagen Polo Mk1
Encyclopedia
The Volkswagen Polo Mk1 is the first generation of the Volkswagen Polo
supermini
. It was produced from 1975 until 1981.
version of the Audi 50
, was introduced in 1975 on mainland Europe and was launched in the UK in 1976. The differences between the Audi and VW models were minor, with the Polo being cheaper and much more basic. The two cars were initially sold alongside each other, but the Audi 50 never sold as well, and was withdrawn in 1978.
The manufacturer let it be known that Bertone had been involved in the styling of the Polo and it's Audi sibling, although the car was essentially an in-house Audi design, with the Italian design studio's contribution restricted to the circular extractor vent cover at the base of the C pillar, and the small "flick-up" at the rear end of the waist line.
The Polo was manufactured at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg
. In 1977, the Derby sedan was released, which was simply a Polo, identical to the hatchback from the C-pillar forward, with a large boot attached (an old Audi
proposal, but never sold by this brand).
When first on sale the range topping car, the LS model, featured the 50 PS (37 kW) 1043 cc engine found in the Audi 50. Other specifications included parking lights, rear wash wipe, sun visors, chromed bumpers and 4.5J X 13" wheels. The N model was the basic starting spec lacking many of the features of the LS. In 1979 the GLS was introduced, replacing the LS as the range-topping car; specification upgrades included chrome headlight and grill surrounds, sunroof, a cigarette lighter and chrome wheel trims.
895 cc, producing 40 bhp 1093 cc and 1272 cc engines were used, with the smaller one used only in the Polo hatchback, and the 1272 cc only in the Derby, Audi 50, and the rare Polo GT. Different levels of compression were used on each size to achieve different power outputs, and the variations are numerous, often differing depending on the country of sale, ranging from 34 to 60 PS (26 to 44 kW).
sedan.
Further models were added including CLS, S and an out run LX model. The Mark 1's production run finally ended in October 1981 with over 500,000 Polos sold worldwide.
Volkswagen Polo
The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car manufactured by Volkswagen. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, coupé and estate variants....
supermini
Supermini car
A supermini is a British term that describes automobiles larger than a city car but smaller than a small family car. This car class is also known as the B-segment across Europe, and as subcompact in North America....
. It was produced from 1975 until 1981.
Polo Mark 1 (1975-1979)
The original Polo (known internally as the Typ 86), a rebadgedBadge engineering
Badge engineering is an ironic term that describes the rebadging of one product as another...
version of the Audi 50
Audi 50
The Audi 50 is a supermini produced by German automaker Audi from 1974 to 1978 and sold only in Europe. Introduced two or three years after the Italian Fiat 127 and the French Renault 5, the model was seen at the time as Germany's first home grown entrant in Europe's emerging "supermini"...
, was introduced in 1975 on mainland Europe and was launched in the UK in 1976. The differences between the Audi and VW models were minor, with the Polo being cheaper and much more basic. The two cars were initially sold alongside each other, but the Audi 50 never sold as well, and was withdrawn in 1978.
The manufacturer let it be known that Bertone had been involved in the styling of the Polo and it's Audi sibling, although the car was essentially an in-house Audi design, with the Italian design studio's contribution restricted to the circular extractor vent cover at the base of the C pillar, and the small "flick-up" at the rear end of the waist line.
The Polo was manufactured at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...
. In 1977, the Derby sedan was released, which was simply a Polo, identical to the hatchback from the C-pillar forward, with a large boot attached (an old Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
proposal, but never sold by this brand).
When first on sale the range topping car, the LS model, featured the 50 PS (37 kW) 1043 cc engine found in the Audi 50. Other specifications included parking lights, rear wash wipe, sun visors, chromed bumpers and 4.5J X 13" wheels. The N model was the basic starting spec lacking many of the features of the LS. In 1979 the GLS was introduced, replacing the LS as the range-topping car; specification upgrades included chrome headlight and grill surrounds, sunroof, a cigarette lighter and chrome wheel trims.
895 cc, producing 40 bhp 1093 cc and 1272 cc engines were used, with the smaller one used only in the Polo hatchback, and the 1272 cc only in the Derby, Audi 50, and the rare Polo GT. Different levels of compression were used on each size to achieve different power outputs, and the variations are numerous, often differing depending on the country of sale, ranging from 34 to 60 PS (26 to 44 kW).
Polo Mark 1 facelift (1979-1981)
The Mark 1 Polo and Derby were facelifted in 1979 (unofficially referred to as the Mark 1F) with plastic bumpers, a different front grille and a revised dashboard. The round headlights of the Derby were replaced with square ones, bringing it inline with the similar Golf-based JettaVolkswagen Jetta
Although the Golf had reached considerable success, in the North American markets, Volkswagen observed that the hatchback body style lacked some of the appeal to those who preferred the traditional three-box configuration...
sedan.
Further models were added including CLS, S and an out run LX model. The Mark 1's production run finally ended in October 1981 with over 500,000 Polos sold worldwide.
See also
- Volkswagen PoloVolkswagen PoloThe Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car manufactured by Volkswagen. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, coupé and estate variants....
for an overview of all models - Volkswagen Polo Mk2Volkswagen Polo Mk2The Volkswagen Polo Mk2 is the second generation of the Volkswagen Polo supermini, it was produced from late 1981 until 1994.-Polo Mark 2:...
- Volkswagen Polo Mk3Volkswagen Polo Mk3The Volkswagen Polo Mk3 is the third generation of the Volkswagen Polo supermini, produced from 1994 until late 1999 and some in 2000. It was produced in two forms, the initial car being known as the Mark 4 or IIII, and the facelifted version known as the Mark 4 Phase II or unofficially as the...
- Volkswagen Polo Mk4Volkswagen Polo Mk4The Volkswagen Polo Mk4 is the fourth generation of the Volkswagen Polo that has been sold by the German automaker Volkswagen from early 2002 to 2009 in most countries. It is still being manufactured in South Africa, where it is sold as the Polo Vivo. The MK4 replaced the Volkswagen Polo Mk3 in the...
- Volkswagen Polo Mk5Volkswagen Polo Mk5The Volkswagen Polo Mk5 is the fifth generation of the Volkswagen Polo supermini-class car, launched by Volkswagen in March 2009.The Mark 5 Polo, internally designated Typ 6R, is based on Volkswagen's PQ25 platform, shared with the 2008 SEAT Ibiza and the Audi A1...
External links
- Volkswagen Australia's Polo Site
- Club Polo UK Website (source for some of the model history information)
- Polo3 UK Website (source for some of the model history information)