It was the cheaper twin of the Audi 50, which sold so poorly Audi killed its own car off in 1978.
Median 54 hp across 79 similar cars
Lead trim: 895 cc · up to 50 hp
Volkswagen Polo Mk11975–1981
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Volkswagen Polo Mk1 yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactIt was the cheaper twin of the Audi 50, which sold so poorly Audi killed its own car off in 1978.
The original Polo, known internally as the Typ 86, was a rebadged version of the Audi 50, introduced in 1975 on mainland Europe and launched in the UK and the Isle of Man in 1976, and built at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg. The differences between the Audi and Volkswagen models were minor, with the Polo cheaper and much more basic, and the Audi 50 never sold as well and was withdrawn in 1978. Bertone was said to have been involved in the styling, although the car was essentially an in-house Audi design. The Derby sedan, simply a Polo with a large boot attached, was released in 1977. When first on sale the range-topping LS model had the 50 PS 1043 cc engine of the Audi 50; the GLS replaced it as top model in 1979. The Mark 1 Polo and Derby were facelifted in 1979 (the Mark 1F) with plastic bumpers, a different front grille and a revised dashboard, and production ended in October 1981 with over 500,000 Polos sold worldwide.
Collectors Spotted in the Volkswagen Polo Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Volkswagen Polo yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
4 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 (1,043 cc, 50 PS) | 1975–1981 | 1.0 L Inline-4 | 49 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1.1 (1,093 cc) | 1975–1981 | 1.1 L Inline-4 | 50 hp | 56 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 1.3 (1,272 cc; Polo GT, Derby) | 1975–1981 | 1.3 L Inline-4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 895 cc | 1975–1981 | 0.9 L Inline-4 | 40 hp | 48 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
This is the first Polo generation Volkswagen refused to build with three doors at all.
The GTI's twincharged 1.4 made 180 PS by stacking a supercharger and turbo on the same engine.
A 130 PS diesel wore the badge GT, built alongside a sedan version made in Brazil, South Africa and China.
This was the first Polo ever offered with a turbodiesel, a 1.9-litre, though only in 6K models before the 2000 facelift.
A tiny supercharged Polo quietly set world records: the limited GT G40 used VW's G-Lader supercharger for 1300cc-class endurance records, years before the same tech reached the Golf G60.
It was the cheaper twin of the Audi 50, which sold so poorly Audi killed its own car off in 1978.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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