VW Polo, 1975

VW Polo, 1975

 

The Mk I Polo, a rebadged version of the Audi 50, was introduced in 1975. 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 The two cars were initially sold along side each other, but the Audi 50 never sold as well, and was withdrawn in 1978. 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, 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 35 to 60 PS (26 to 44 kW).

Mk IF (1979-1981)
The Mk I Polo and Derby were facelifted in 1979 (Mk IF) 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 Jetta sedan.

Further models were added including CLS, S and an out run LX model. The Mk I's production run finally ended in October 1981 with over 500,000 Polos sold worldwide.

VW Golf I, 1974

VW Golf I, 1974

 

The first Golf began production in 1974. Marketed in the United States and Canada from 1975 to 1984 as the Volkswagen Rabbit and in Latin America as the Volkswagen Caribe, it featured the water-cooled, front wheel drive design pioneered by the Citroën Traction Avant in 1934 with the addition of a hatchback pioneered by the Renault 4 in 1961. The Golf was Wheels magazine's Car of the Year for 1975. The name is short for Golf-Strom, German for Gulf Stream; it was named for that oceanic current to reflect its international character. It was originally named the Rabbit in North America and the Caribe in Latin America, ironically, because marketers decided that no one in the Western Hemisphere would understand the European name.

While the Golf was not the first design with this layout (earlier examples being the Austin and Morris Mini of 1959, the Austin Maxi in the late 1960s and the Fiat 128 3P of the early 1970s), it was very successful, especially since it married these features with Volkswagen's reputation for solid build-quality and reliable engineering.

The Golf was designed by Italian automobile architect / designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, of the ItalDesign design studio. A version of this original Golf model, known as the Volkswagen CitiGolf, is still produced in South Africa as an entry level car.

In 1978, Volkswagen commenced producing the Rabbit version of the Mk1 Golf in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, thus becoming the first European car manufacturer in modern times to produce a vehicle in the United States. Former Chevrolet executive James McLernon was chosen to run the factory, which was built to lower the cost of the Rabbit in North America by producing it locally. Unfortunately, McLernon tried to "Americanize" the Rabbit by softening the suspension and using cheaper materials for the interior. VW purists in America and company executives in Germany were displeased, and for the 1983 model year the Pennsylvania plant went back to using stiffer shocks and suspension with higher-quality interior trim. The plant also began producing the GTI for the North American market. (Rabbits were built in Pennsylvania through 1984.) The first VW Caddy pick-up, based on the Mk1 Golf, was also created at the Pennsylvania plant.

The GTI version, launched in Europe in 1976 and in the US in 1983, virtually created the hot hatch genre overnight, and many other manufacturers since have created special sports models of their regular volume selling small hatchbacks. It was one of the first small cars to adopt fuel injection for its sports version, which raised power output of the 1588 cc engine to 110 PS (81 kW/108 hp). In 2004, Sports Car International announced the GTI Mk I as the 3rd best car of the 1980s. In the United States, the Mk1 Golf GTI was known as the Rabbit GTI.

There was a minor facelift in 1980 for North American versions only, which saw the adoption of larger rear lamp clusters (more in line with Guigiaro's original concepts), larger bumpers, square headlights and a new dashboard with a more modern-looking instrument display.

The convertible version, named the Cabriolet, was sold from 1980 to 1993 (a convertible version of the Golf II was not made, so the Mk1 cabrio with slight modification was produced until the introduction of the Mk III cabrio). It had a reinforced body, transverse roll bar, and a high level of trim. The A1 Volkswagen convertible is of unibody construction built entirely at the factory of Karmann, from stamping to final assembly; Volkswagen supplied the engine, suspension, interior, etc. for Karmann to install. The vinyl tops were insulated and manually operated, with a glass rear window.

As of 2006, Volkswagen of South Africa still manufactures two first generation Golfs, the four-door "Citi" Golf and the "Pickup".

VW Passat Variant, 1973

VW Passat Variant, 1973

The original VW Passat was launched in 1973. The body types offered originally were 2- and 4-door sedans and similar looking three- and five-door versions. Externally all four shared a modern fastback style design, styled by the Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro). All the versions sharing the same external design was unusual, since two of the models were traditional sedans with a separate trunk. A five-door station wagon was introduced in 1974. Passat was effectively a less expensive version of the Audi 80 (Fox) sedan which had been introduced a year earlier and which had a more conservative body style, so that the Audi and Volkswagen models had distinct body styles and image. In Europe, Passat was equipped with hexagonal or single round or double round headlights depending on specification.

In North America, the car was called the Dasher, and was only available with round DOT-spec lights. The three-door hatchback model was launched in North America in 1975.

VW Passat was one of the most modern European family cars at the time, and was intended as a replacement for the ageing Volkswagen Type 3, and as a contemporary rival for popular Ford Taunus/Cortina) and Opel Ascona/Vauxhall Cavalier. The Passat was Wheels magazine's Car of the Year for 1974 and its sister model Audi 80 was nominated car of the year by the European motor press a year earlier. The platform was named B1.

The Passat used the 4 cylinder OHC 1.3 L, 1.5 L, and 1.6 L petrol engines, also used in the Audi 80—longitudinally mounted with front wheel drive, in Audi tradition, with either a 4-speed manual transmission or 3-speed automatic. It had a MacPherson strut front suspension with a solid axle/coil spring setup in back.

The SOHC 1.5 produced 75 PS (55 kW) and was enlarged to 1.6 L for 1975. The larger engine included tighter emissions controls, so power output dropped to 70 PS (52 kW). Bosch fuel injection on the 1.6 was introduced in 1976 and brought power up to 78 PS (57 kW).

The whole range received a facelift in 1977 (launched 1978 outside Europe), featuring an interior upgrade and subtly revised styling including repositioned indicators and quad (round) headlights on all models. This generation was sold in Brazil well into the 1980s and extensively exported to Iraq, where many are still on the road. It was also assembled in Nigeria.

1979 saw the introduction of the Volkswagen Golf's 1.5 L Diesel engine, which produced just 48 PS (35 kW) in the 1130 kg (2500 lb) car. 0–100 km/h time for the Diesel was 19.4 seconds, 6.2 seconds slower than the gasoline (petrol) engine. Still, all gasoline engines were dropped for North America in 1981 in preparation for the next generation car the next year.

2010 Volkswagen Kai-Nalu Concept Design Study - Volkswagen Sport Car

Josep Ferriol is a graduate of Universidad Politécnica de Valencia in Spain, and a designer. Josep Ferriol created this concept car design study called the Volkswagen Kai-Nalu, a wild child with extremely exotic looks, as part of his thesis.

2010Volkswagen Kai-Nalu

The Volkswagen Kai-Nalu is a concept sports car designed by Spanish designer Josep Ferriol. The vehicle is futuristic sports car and is inspired by the waves of the Mediterranean Sea as they smash into the shoreline. The Kai-Nalu also includes a flowing glass upper section, which has been designed to mimic the sea.

The Volkswagen Concept Josep Ferriol includes the clear roof, highly stylised wheels and an electric drivetrain with two separate motors and design of Kai-Nalu is somewhat controversial and certainly no please everyone. But in a world where there are many supercars that follow the same formula and same style, the Volkswagen Kai-Nalu is refreshing and different.

Ferriol is quite aware of how bold and probably controversial the Kai-Nalu would be, given the tendency for certain modern cars to follow similar design patterns.

Designed to be powered by a zero-emission electric engine, the vehicle features highly stylized wheels which have been inspired by the appearance of bicycle wheels.

Volkswagen unveils the new Polo at the ordinal Auto Expo in New Delhi

While we've already seen the traveller at the Geneva Motor Show, this is the first time the car has been shown for the Amerindic market. Set to be launched in March, the traveller will be available with two 1.2-liter engines. The petrol unit produces 75 hp and a 110 Nm of torque, patch the diesel churns discover 75 hp and 180 Nm of torque.

New Delhi, January 5, 2010: Volkswagen, Europe's maximal car concern unveiled its much awaited payment hatchback the newborn traveller at the New metropolis Auto Expo today. The consort also showcased the Race traveller for the Volkswagen traveller Cup which will commence in Bharat with the speech race event on June, 2010.

Speaking most the showcasing of the newborn Polo, Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management, Volkswagen A.G, with responsibility for Group Production said, \"The Volkswagen brand plays an important role in our success story. The newborn traveller is a key player in our current strategy. It is an outstanding model in the surpassing arrange of the Volkswagen Group.\"

He boost additional \"The traveller stands for Teutonic engineering and top technology. It is a lively young and cosmopolitan car. This particular model has been designed with the expectations and wants of our customers in mind, making the traveller a newborn benchmark in the compact segment and even creating its possess class -the traveller class\" he concluded.
Commenting on the newborn Polo, Mr. Neeraj Garg, Member of Board and Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales Bharat Pvt. Ltd said \"The newborn procreation traveller offers our brand's core values of innovation, value and responsibility. It is designed to offer the rattling prizewinning in comfort and drivability. It features every newborn interiors and its pure and powerful design makes the newborn traveller a brave styling statement.

The good news is that this hatchback from Volkswagen will be primed for understanding at every our dealerships from March this year."

The new Polo:

The newborn Volkswagen traveller will be acquirable with a petrol and diesel variant. The petrol var. is armored with a 1.2 litre engine with an output of 75HP @ 5400 rate and a Torque of 110NM @ 3750 rpm.

The diesel var. is also armored with the 1.2 litre engine with an output of 75HP @ 4200 rate and torque of 180 NM @ 2000 rpm.

It will be acquirable in three cut levels including Trendline, Comfortline and Highline and is paired with a 5-speed manual equipment box.

The interior is armored with hardware compartment in face doors for 1 litre Bottles, sunglass hardware inside gloves box, single folding rear seat backrest and the dashboard are grounds of the sure instinct of broad organisation quality which interprets the classic elements of the traveller in a contemporary way.

In exteriors too, the newborn traveller offers body black bumpers with green tinted heat fascinating glass, halogen headlights and galvanized Body with 6 years Anti Corrosion Warranty.

The traveller highline has super 15\" alloy wheels, ensconced in their increasing arches; give it a higher and more commanding stance.

In land it is armored with Advanced dweller land with Dual airbags, utility and traveller side, Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) and electronic Anti theft immobilizer.

On richness the car has a sort of unique, lost touches. It is armored with CD MP3 Player changer with 4 speakers, noesis control for better drivability, central locking with unique boot opener in company logo, height adjustable driving way with a control wheel tilt which improves the drivability of the passenger.

The newborn traveller will establish a activity position in its collection with collection defining attributes of space, style, comfort, land and fuel efficiency. It will be manufactured at Volkswagen's Chakan plant with an period power of 110,000 cars and will be acquirable through Volkswagen's 40 dealerships across the country.

Race Polo:

The Volkswagen Race traveller which will be seen racing for the first time on the Indian tracks at the traveller Cup comes with a 1.6L R4 ordinary rail diesel engine with an output of 130 HP@4400 rate and force of 250 Nm@ 1500-2500 rpm.

It is armored with a 6 pace drill gearbox, 17 inch impureness wheels with 200/605 R17 disentangle tyres. Adjustable Sachs vie suspension, aerodynamic body kit with face and lateral spoiler, lateral skirts and lateral wing form the accepted features of this car.

The inland is armored with integrated head protection in the vie seat, a 6 saucer seatbelt embattled for HANS System, country net on driver side, additional display and data logger grouping with on board camera.

Safety and section in the Race traveller is enhanced with the supplying of FIA approved roll cage, fire device grouping with internal and outside release, electrical revilement soured grouping and a vie brushwood grouping with four piston immobile calliper and airy 312 mm round face and 232 mm disc brushwood rear. In other words perfectly loaded and ready for the Race.

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