The Harlequin Volkswagen Polo: Love It or Hate It?

What’s the best way to celebrate Blue Monday, the so-called “most depressing day of the year?” If you are Volkswagen Netherlands, you build a one-off, sixth-generation Polo based on the iconic Harlequin models of the ‘90s.

Originally built as a way to showcase the color options available for the European launch of the Polo in 1994, the original VW “Harlekin” …

Read the rest of the story

And, yes, TIL that people have already done Harlequin Miatas.

I remember seeing the Harlequin Golf at our local VW dealership, too. I'd rök it. 

I think Quebec got a disproportionate number of the Golfs back in the day, I remember seeing them fairly often. Of course, you noticed every one of them.

There was a Honda dealer that seemed to somewhat successfully make Harlequin Goldwings.  Where the Harlequin golf is cool because it's obvious what it actually is, the Goldwings just looked bad.  But they charged more for them and people apparently bought them.  

And yes if I could by a Harlequin Polo in the states I would strongly consider it.  If it was the only way to get a Polo.  I would prefer an Up GTI though.  

I love the Harlequin Golfs.  I remember seeing one around town back in the day and thinking just how cool it looked.

Here's a question that I've wondered about the old Harlequins...  

In both the Golf example and the Polo example above, it seems that the unibody is red.  I think this is evident by the roof, c-pillar and rocker panel being red.  It is then my belief that if you looked under the hood, the engine bay would be red and if you pulled the carpet, the floor pan would be red. 

The question I wonder is, were all the Harlequins the same unibody color?  Furthermore, was the scheme always the same such as hood always green and bumper always yellow, etc? 

In reply to John Welsh :

It depends.

From the rest of Colin's piece:

The Harlequin models were actually built four at a time in Pistachio Green, Ginster Yellow, Tornado Red and Chagall Blue. The Harlequin pattern was then produced by swapping the “hood, tailgate, doors, bumpers, and mirrors according to a set pattern.”

John Welsh said:

Here's a question that I've wondered about the old Harlequins...  

In both the Golf example and the Polo example above, it seems that the unibody is red.  I think this is evident by the roof, c-pillar and rocker panel being red.  It is then my belief that if you looked under the hood, the engine bay would be red and if you pulled the carpet, the floor pan would be red. 

The question I wonder is, were all the Harlequins the same unibody color?  Furthermore, was the scheme always the same such as hood always green and bumper always yellow, etc? 

I remember reading an article about them awhile ago and if I remember correctly they had a few different "patterns". So if you had a green hood, you had red roof, yellow front passenger door, etc. Or if you had a yellow hood, you had a blue roof, red passenger front door.(and all of the corresponding other parts in whatever pattern that entailed.) So the chassis were all normal colors.

The unibody was one of the four colors.

Here's the Golf registry!

http://www.rossvw.com/harlequin/ 

And from their FAQ, it looks like Canada did indeed get a considerably higher number per capita than the US.

"This means about 178 Harlequins produced for the US, 69 produced for Canada, and 1 Harlequin sold new in Mexico."

I dig it!

I know people go nuts over them, but I am decidedly not a fan of the old or new ones.

David S. Wallens said:

And, yes, TIL that people have already done Harlequin Miatas.

I remember seeing the Harlequin Golf at our local VW dealership, too. I'd rök it. 

Technically, my Targa Miata is sorta a Harlequin but I painted it :)

Keith Tanner said:

I think Quebec got a disproportionate number of the Golfs back in the day, I remember seeing them fairly often. Of course, you noticed every one of them.

 

Ontario too. I used to see them a lot more frequently than you would expect based on the numbers

Back in the 90s, I would see a Golf Harlequin parked at our local library all the time. I didn't know about the factory connection and just though it was something that some kid put together

I noticed a sign taped to the side window one day and, figuring that it was a for sale, used that as an excuse to take a closer look. I was surprised at how well done it was. And it wasn't actually up for sale at all; the sign made no mention of the car. The owner was retired and volunteered teaching illiterate adults how to read, and the sign explained all that. I don't know if the car was purchased specifically to draw attention to the mission of literacy, but I have to say that it was memorable and effective.

I wish the car was still around because it always made me smile.

For the Polo to be a "real" Harlequin implies there are three other Polos in the 3 other patterns...

So, serious question, what does the title/registration list for color? All? N/A? 

I've always had a soft spot for these. If I ever buy another new car, I would be interested to find 3 other people who bought the same make and model in a different color and swap around doors and hoods. 

I went down the rabbit hole and found this...  

Here are a few Harlequin fun facts:

• Harlequins were built in batches of four, starting life as single-color cars in Tornado Red, Ginster Yellow, Chagall Blue, and Pistachio Green.
• Doors, hatches, hoods, and fenders were swapped manually, making the process fairly labor intensive.
• There were only four color combinations, each batch consisting of one of each.
• Two of the colors, Chagall Blue and Pistachio Green, were not otherwise available on Golfs in North America.
• All harlequins had the original donor car’s roof, C-pillar, and rocker panel, as these elements were formed of a single welded piece and were impossible to swap out.
• The color of the roof was used for license and registration purposes.
• All Golf Harlequins came with grey interiors.
• The Harlequin treatment was a $150 option.
• All Harlequins were based on the GL trim level, and thus came only with a 115-horsepower 2.0-liter engine. No word on how many were built with manual transmissions.
• With manual transmission, a Golf Harlequin would have started at $13,725.
• With automatic transmission, air conditioning, antilock brakes, and a CD changer, the Golf Harlequin listed for $16,730.

While that initial run of 60 Golf Harlequins wasn’t enough for VW dealers, the additional batch of 200 or so was apparently a few too many. Rumor has it that at least a few Harlequins were swapped back to single-color status at the dealership to help move them off the lot.

Just remembered this ad from a few years ago for the Rabbit. I  remember being a kid and thinking "I want the multi-colored one."

I don't recall that VW ever sold them that way, though.

I don't like it, but I like living in a world where it exists.

Is this still GRM?  This is the cool VW Golf we should be talking about.   
 

I remember I almost impulse bought one back at the Road Atlanta runoffs in the 90s.  It think it had the ronal teddy bear wheels too and was dirt cheap.

What color is the Check Engine light?

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

What color is the Check Engine light?

Orange like everyone else.