On 3 July 2010, Volkswagen Classic (the company’s ‘heritage’ division) sent 12 teams to compete in the Youngtimer Tour 2010, a 220km-long road rally organised by German motor magazine Auto Zeitung. Seventy teams took part in the circular run to the Nürburgring from Euskirchen and among Volkswagen’s entries were an example of the stylish Porsche 914 (we’re big fans of the chunky 1970s VW/Porsche baby here at PoloDriver) and a 1973 Apal Buggy. The bulk of the company’s entires were made up of early VWs, though, with old Golfs, Passats and even a K70 joining a classic Polo. Nestled in the exhibits at the Volkswagen exhibition at the Euskirchen start and finish venue were the Eco Racer concept from 2005 and the Golf GTI W12 from 2007.

Only cars built between 1969 and 1990 were eligible to take part in the Youngtimer Tour 2010, and all of Volkswagen’s teams completed the event, the K70 of Volkswagen Executive Vice President Dr Rudolf Krebs, Plant Manager of Salzgitter (and Manager of the brand’s Future for Electric Vehicles division) crossing the line in third place overall. The more modern era of the Volkswagen Group was represented by a Lamborghini Jalpa, a Series 2 VW Scirocco, and a Skoda Fabia vRS. It’s not the first time Volkswagen has entered vintage Polos into road rally events; in 2005 it entered two older examples of its supermini on the Hamburg to Wolfsburg Creme 21 Youngtimer Rallye (pictured above), both of which were taken from the AutoMuseum Volkswagen.

We’ve been doing a bit of late summer sprucing here at PoloDriver. There are still some parts of the site that we’ve still got to go through, but today, we’ve added more information about two Series 2 Polo special models; the Polo Mikado and the Polo Peppermint. The Peppermint (pictured above), was, as far as we know, only available in France and was basically a rebadged Fox. Available from September 1991, the Peppermint was available with a 1043cc 45bhp petrol engine and a 1398cc 48bhp diesel unit. Also built around the base-model Fox, the Polo Mikado was on sale year later, and featured special paint finishes (including the unique Violet Blue) and brightly-coloured interior trim. Other embellishments included exterior colour-matched wheel trim rings. Head over to the Series 2 specials page to find out more, and to let us know of any unique models we may have missed.

Stiftung AutoMuseum Volkswagen is a special place for Volkswagen fans. Tucked away from the global headquarters of the German giant in a side street in Wolfsburg, its long been a mecca for Volkswagen enthusiasts. How long? 2010 marks 25 years since the innocent-looking building opened its doors to the public, and laid bare its secrets for all to see. Jam-packed to its industrial rafters are Volkswagen Group models of all shapes and sizes, most of them prototypes which have rarely been on public view. A sizable chunk are Beetles of the air-cooled variety, but there really is something for everyone. There’s now more than a handful of Polos, including a Series 1 of 1975, a pair of record-breaking G40 Polo coupés from 1985, and the very first Series 3 Polo from the production line in 1994.

To celebrate Stiftung AutoMuseum Volkswagen’s quarter of a century, its doors are open for a special ‘25 years AutoMuseum Volkswagen’ exhibition. Running until 19 September 2010, it worships the car’s ever-changing role in the culture, economic, social and technological arenas and celebrates its contribution since 1985. Twenty-five specially-selected exhibits tell the story, and to ensure that visitors can see all the jewels in Stiftung AutoMuseum Volkswagen’s crown, its opening hours have been extended. Now accepting visits from 10am to 6pm, if you find yourself visiting the ‘Volkswagen town’ of Wolfsburg, make sure you take a trip to Dieselstrasse. Although there’s a new, purpose built and brilliant car museum – the ‘Zeithaus’ – at nearby VW theme park AutoStadt, you just might uncover something extra special at Stiftung AutoMuseum Volkswagen…

• Keep visiting PoloDriver for a series of features on the different Polo exhibits in Stiftung AutoMuseum Volkswagen

One of the defining features of the 1970s was the vibrant colour palette which affected everything from fashion to home furnishings. The bright, flat colours also identified the cars in that decade, too, and the Audi 50 certainly joined in the eye-popping fun. It’s by no means a definitive list, but we’ve updated our Audi 50 ‘Heritage’ pages to document the shades in which the car could be ordered. There are trim combinations, too, and delving deeper, there are some peculiar (and not particularly tasteful) mixes as a result. Ozeanicblau/Cognac from 1976 is one such pairing; Bahamablaumetallic/Tabak from 1978 is another. Point your mouse here to find out how tasteful (or not) an Audi 50 could be.

Audi celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2010, and part of its celebrations include the publication of Four Rings – The Audi Story, a 368-page book documenting the company’s illustrious and at times, ground-breaking past. Available in English and German language versions, Audi has posted new pages on its corporate website to document both the publication and the evolution of its models and, more excitingly, has released vintage colour publicity images of the Audi 50 at various locations.

The ‘new’ photographs depict the car in France as well as at the press launch in Sardinia in 1974, and have a typical Seventies look about them. The 50 is in the Four Rings book, too; a spread on pages 226 and 227 tell the development and production story of Audi’s premium supermini, on sale from 1974 to 1978. An online digital preview is available here; the book is published by Delius Klasing and can be ordered by clicking on this link. Head over to our Audi 50 publicity image gallery to see the new colour pictures.

Following the addition of a gallery of publicity images to our Audi 50 pages in the Heritage section of the site this week, you can now find the basic specification of the baby Audi in the same area of PoloDriver. Click here to read about what made the 50 tick, from its engine choices to its tyre sizes. There are also details of factory-fitted optional equipment, from car radios to headlamp washers.

Continuing our celebration of the Polo’s 35th anniversary, we continue to profile the car which started it all, the Audi 50. Following our recent updated heritage page, here is a group of publicity images from the 50’s launch, back in a more naive 1974. Our thanks to Michael Höcker and the gang at Audi 50 Friends for permission to use the pictures – be sure to visit the brilliant German home of the Audi 50 for all the facts, figures and pictures on the first-generation Polo’s prestigious sister.

The Audi 50 played an important part in the history of the Volkswagen Polo. Born into a energy crisis-hit world, the smallest production Audi ever built soon had a cheaper and more popular sister to play with, as Volkswagen launched its own less expensive version. Setting a template for the premium supermini, the 50 was a test bed for many technological developments and ultimately gave its life for the baby VW. As part of our 35th anniversary of the Polo celebrations, we’ve updated our history of Audi’s forgotten supermini. Pop across here to read the story of the Polo’s precursor, the Audi 50.

It can’t have escaped your notice that the Volkswagen Polo celebrates its 35th birthday in 2010. That’s three-and-a-half decades of stylish, premium small car motoring, loaded with awards and so many model variations it’s almost impossible to keep up. That’s thirty-five years of worldwide automotive superstardom (in the latter years at least); from humble beginnings in Europe, the Polo has now become a global car in every sense of the word and in every part of the world.

Here at PoloDriver, we’ll be celebrating all generations of the model, starting at the beginning, with the Polo-derived Audi 50 of 1974 and the Series 1 Polo from 1975. We’ll profile the models themselves, look at how they were marketed and sold, and also see if we can seek out high-quality standard and modified examples. A year-long journey over five generations, if you have any interesting anecdotes, reminiscences, stories or feature-worthy cars, email 35@polodriver.com and we’ll do the rest.

It can’t have escaped your notice that the Volkswagen Polo celebrates its 35th birthday in 2010. That’s three-and-a-half decades of stylish, premium small car motoring, loaded with awards and so many model variations, it’s almost impossible to keep up. That’s thirty-five years of worldwide automotive superstardom (in the latter years at least); from humble beginnings in Europe, the Polo has now become a global car in every sense of the word and in every part of the world.

Here at PoloDriver, we’ll be celebrating all generations of the model, starting at the beginning, with the Polo-derived Audi 50 of 1974 and the Series 1 Polo from 1975. We’ll profile the models themselves, look at how they were marketed and sold, and also see if we can seek out high-quality standard and modified examples. A year-long journey over five generations, if you have any interesting anecdotes, reminiscences, stories or feature-worthy cars, email 35@polodriver.com and we’ll do the rest.