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More extreme Polo GTI Cup Edition had 178bhp 1.8T to promote Polo Cup racing series. #PoloGTI #throwbackthursday http://t.co/NkST47XPcR

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The 48-year-old Golf GTI may be Volkswagen’s most revered sporting hatchback, but the Polo GTI has been offering a similar recipe in a smaller package for just under three decades now. Volkswagen is recognising this fact with the new Polo GTI Edition 25 model announced today. On sale on 1 June, the 2023 Volkswagen Polo GTI Edition 25 will be priced from €35,205.

The first Polo GTI went on sale in 1998 as a special edition of the then third-generation Polo, enjoying a limited production run of 3,000 units and German market-only availability. The hot Polo story began in 1979, though, with the 1,272cc, 60bhp Polo GT and went on to include the now fondly remembered supercharged 113bhp Polo G40.

Host of unique features
In a similar style to the numerous Golf GTI special editions that have punctuated the hot hatch’s career, the Polo GTI Edition 25 features a host of unique features. And like that original Polo GTI, the Polo GTI Edition 25 is a limited-run model, with only 2,500 units being produced. Power is the same at 204bhp (207PS/152kW), with the same running gear as the standard Polo GTI including ‘XDS’ electronic differential lock and 15mm lower suspension than a ‘standard’ Polo.

Where the Polo GTI Edition 25 differs most to the standard Polo GTI is in both visual and kit enhancements. Externally, 18-inch ‘Adelaide’ alloy wheels finished in gloss black join the usual red-trimmed grille and red brake calipers, with the roof and door mirror caps also gaining the dark finish.

Ascot Grey paint debut
In the initial press images, a repeating honeycomb graphic similar in style to that of the 2021 Golf GTI Clubsport 45 adorns the lower part of the front doors, the rear doors featuring a ‘25’ logo. Ascot Grey is added to the Polo GTI colour palette for the first time, the Polo GTI Edition 25 also available in the standard shades of Deep Black Pearl Effect, Kings Red Metallic, Pure White, Reef Blue Metallic and Smoke Grey Metallic.

Step inside, and a ‘One of 2500’ sill plate signifies that the Polo GTI Edition 25 is something a little more special – there is no true personalised number, though. The standard ‘Jacara’/’Clark’ tartan seat trim has been junked, the sports seats trimmed in perforated black and red leather with stitched-in ‘GTI’ logos.

Black and red inserts
Upfront, the usual ‘Deep Iron Grey’ coloured dashpad has been replaced with a gloss black insert with red highlights around the air vents and door handles, as well as a red ‘GTI’ logo ahead of the passenger. The multifunction steering wheel – to which the paddleshifts for the seven-speed DSG gearbox are attached – is fitted with a ‘25’ logo in its lower spoke. A high resolution eight-inch ‘Ready2Discover’ infotainment system is standard.

Other standard innovations include Volkswagen’s IQ Light LED matrix headlights with dynamic light assist functionality and LED daytime running lights. The optional Travel Assist system forms part of the IQ Drive assist package which also includes adaptive cruise control and lane assist systems.

‘Home of the Polo GTI’
The Polo GTI Edition 25 and other sixth-generation Polo-based Polo GTIs are exclusively built at Volkswagen South Africa’s Kariega plant. The ‘home of the Polo GTI’, the factory, opened in 1951, is situated near Port Elizabeth and is the largest car manufacturing facility on the African continent. ‘Our team in South Africa is really proud of this car’, said Martina Biene, managing director and chairperson of Volkswagen Group South Africa. ‘The Polo has a long tradition here – especially the Polo GTI.’ Volkswagen South Africa produces the Polo Vivo, the Polo and the Polo GTI.

POLO GTI: A BRIEF HISTORY
The third-generation Polo was the first to wear Volkswagen’s iconic three letter badge. Limited to 3,000 units, the limited model sold out as fast as its 9.1-second 0-60mph time. Marked out by ‘GTI’ badges, 15-inch BBS alloy wheels, red seatbelts and unique ‘1’ interior trim, the subtle-looking model started the Polo GTI ball rolling.

1999-2001 Polo GTI
Updated in 1999 when the facelifted third-generation Polo arrived, the GTI became a permanent fixture in the Polo range. Featuring much the same recipe as before, its 1.6-litre 125bhp 16V engine with variable valve timing technology was 5bhp up on the 1998 version.

2006-2009 Polo GTI
The introduction of the refreshed fourth-generation ‘9N3’ Polo in 2006 saw the next Polo GTI arrive. With 148bhp from its 1.8-litre turbocharged engine, a special 178bhp Polo GTI Cup Edition was fitted with a unique body kit based on the Polo Cup racing cars that pounded the racetracks in Europe.

2010-2017 Polo GTI
Switching tack was the twincharged (super and turbocharged) Polo GTI of 2010. The 1.4-litre TSI engine was exclusively paired with a seven-speed DSG gearbox for a 0-62mph time of 6.9 seconds. With 17-inch ‘Monza’ wheels that aped the Golf GTI, it looked every inch the hot hatch. Sharpened up in 2014 with the arrival of the updated fifth-generation model, the 1.4 engine was swapped for a 1.8-litre turbocharged unit with 189bhp and the choice of both manual and DSG gearboxes.

2017-2023 Polo GTI
Now very firmly a mainstay of the family, the Polo GTI of the sixth-generation Polo range had 197bhp and a six-speed DSG gearbox, sprinting to 62mph from rest in 6.7 seconds. A suite of new high resolution infotainment systems and a 10.3-inch digital driver’s display were among the technological highlights. In 2021 the refreshed model debuted – still based on Volkswagen’s successful MQB platform architecture – with 204bhp and subtle styling enhancements inside and out. It is this car on which the Polo GTI Edition 25 is based.

The Polo GTI of the sixth-generation Polo has been campaigned successfully in motorsport, both on and off the track. The car has provided a base for the Polo GTI R5 rally car, as well as the Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa Polo Cup one-make series circuit racer.

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One of the 1970s stars of Volkswagen’s rejuvenated and company-changing range of new front-wheel drive and water-cooled cars, the lifespan of the Mk 1 Polo was only six years, but a small number of special editions were wheeled out in that time to either bolster interest and create something special – Polo Jeans, 1976 and 1978 – or to rekindle demand towards the end of its life – Polo LX, 1981.

There was another, more elusive limited edition, though – the Polo RX. Not to be confused with the 600bhp Polo RX rallycross car of today, the 1970s Polo with the similar name had around ten times fewer horsepower and looked a lot less extreme. Only available in Belgium during 1978, production was limited to 1000 examples only.

Sports styling
Sports styling took nods from the Golf GTI – then only two years old remember – and previewed the Polo GT which arrived a year later in 1979. A matt black rear window surround matched the black-painted metal bumpers perfectly, while stripes in a similar shade emblazoned with the ‘RX’ legend adorned the side panels. A large badge on the front grille left cars in front in no danger of what was behind them, while under-bumper front fog lights further added to the menace.

While the appearance of the Polo RX was similar to the later GT, the engine was, too. A 1.3-litre four-cylinder unit taken from other models in the Volkswagen range was installed in the RX’s engine bay, and made the same 60bhp as the ‘proper’ hot Polo, too, with 0-62mph coming up in 12.9 seconds. Inside, occupants were treated to dark-coloured padded seats, a rev counter and a water temperature gauge.

1978 Volkswagen Polo RX: Geoffroy Thirion

1978 Volkswagen Polo RX: Geoffroy Thirion

1978 Volkswagen Polo RX: Geoffroy Thirion

1978 Volkswagen Polo RX: Geoffroy Thirion

1978 Volkswagen Polo RX: Geoffroy Thirion

The brochure promised: ‘The “RX”, a special edition of the Polo. With much punch.’ There was more: ‘The Polo is like no ordinary vehicle. But here is really something extraordinary.’ The RX certainly worked its magic on Geoffroy Thirion, who has owned the Polo RX featured in the photos here since 2012. Geoffroy is from Belgium and likes the fact that the RX is so rare, even more so that it was a limited model for for his own country.

Rarest Polo models
Probably one of the rarest first-generation Polo models, Geoffroy has lusted after one since he was a young boy: ‘Since I was a kid, one of my dreams was to one day be able to make the acquisition of a Polo RX – they have become so rare! To my surprise, while rummaging in period magazines at the 2011 Techno Classica Essen show, I came across the photo of a Polo RX. A year later I managed to buy one!’ he enthuses.

Geoffroy’s car has worn various wheels over his five-year ownership, from the standard 13-inch steel wheels (not as nattily painted as the red and black rims on the GT), through red cross-spoke alloys, to ‘telephone dial’-style rims. It also has a spoiler from the Polo GT nestling under its front bumper. The car sits alongside his 1979 UK-specification Polo GLS in his garage, and is an award-winner, too, having won the Best in Show’ prize at the 2015 WPG20 show in Belgium which celebrated the Polo’s 40th birthday.

1978 Volkswagen Polo RX: Geoffroy Thirion

1978 Volkswagen Polo RX: Geoffroy Thirion

1978 Volkswagen Polo RX: Geoffroy Thirion

1978 Volkswagen Polo RX: Geoffroy Thirion

1978 Volkswagen Polo RX: Geoffroy Thirion

With only one other Polo RX owned by a member of the Belgian Typ86.be Polo forum, the question is where have the other 998 cars got to? We suspect by the age – 38 years is a long time in first-generation Polo circles – that sadly many are no longer with us, but it doesn’t stop us holding out hope that one day, a collective rasp of RXs will line-up in all their red and black-striped glory.

Once that has happened, we need to look out for the perhaps even scarcer ‘J’ and ‘CLE’ special edition first-generation Polo models, as well as the ultra-rare 850cc-engined version sold in selected Scandinavian markets and early ‘square-roof’ cars… Find out more about the Mk1 Polo special editions here.

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It’s Polos to the double in the latest issue of Volkswagen Driver magazine. The latest version of the eco-minded Polo BlueMotion 1.2 TDI is put through its paces in a 6-page road test, while the 4-page model profile centres on the 2006-2010 1.8T-powered Polo GTI 9N3 (0-62mph in 8.2 seconds, top speed of 134mph). The GTI profile also features information on the Polo GTI Cup Edition, which boasted 178bhp – 30 up on the standard car – and was only available in European markets.The December 2010 issue of Volkswagen Driver magazine is on sale now or can be ordered via the Autometrix Publications website.

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With the advent of the new 1.4 TFSI Polo GTI, UK VW magazine Volkswagen Driver is looking for owners of 9N3 Polo GTI (2006-2010) owners  to give short opinions on ownership for a forthcoming model profile. In production for four years, the 9N3 GTI had a 1.8-litre, turbocharged engine, good for 148bhp, 0-62mph in 8.2 seconds, and a top speed of 134mph. Only eclipsed by the continental market-only 9N3-based Polo GTI Cup Edition with 178bhp, the outgoing GTI was the most powerful series production Polo at the time. Interested 9N3 Polo GTI owners should email Volkswagen Driver editor Neil Birkitt as soon as possible.

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