In an effort to move away from the Audi-like design as quickly as possible, a courageous two-door model was created in 1981. The very daring could also have called it 'station wagon coupé'. If you assume what must be in a car and if you can do without four doors, then almost everything was right here.

A year later the Polo 2 also available as chic coupé . . .

The basic version has significantly less chrome:

The smallest engine had been modified. It now had a compression ratio of 9.5: 1 that was unusual for normal gasoline. The tendency to knock was avoided by so-called pinch edges, in which the piston approached the cylinder head in some places by less than a millimeter and thus caused turbulence.

This helped to prevent the formation of heat pockets and thus self-ignition. So you could afford a higher compression with a corresponding reduction in consumption. There was also an automatic starter called 'Thermochoke', which, in contrast to previous designs, could be reduced by hand in advance.

If you add the c_W value of 0.39, which is considerable for such a short car, remarkable savings of e.g. 5 liters/100 km on longer journeys were quite possible. In addition, there was a 'Formula E' for the medium- sized engine, which, in addition to extensive measures for compression, camshaft, carburetor and ignition, contained the long top gear with a gearshift indicator and small aerodynamic aids.

What is perhaps less well known is that after taking over the research work on the diesel direct injection engine from Audi from 1982 onwards, VW equipped a Polo 2 with a halved 1.7 liter four-cylinder. Despite only having two cylinders, an expensive engine with scroll charger, particle filter, exhaust gas recirculation and glider clutch. It could even 'glide'. The result: less than 2 liters per 100 km on the long haul.

The 1.3 liter four-cylinder was further developed, e.g. as a diesel economy version with 33 kW (45 PS) from 1986. The dream of many fans came true in 1985 via the levels of 40 kW (54 PS) 1983 and 55 kW (75 PS). G40 was the magic word and also meant a spiral charger. Now 83 kW (113 PS) were possible with a catalytic converter and 85 kW (115 PS) without it, and thus speeds of more than 200 km/h.

What you can see here is the world record vehicle. It was derived from the series and achieved an average speed of 208 km/h in 24 hours with 3.9 bar overpressure. With it VW wanted to convince of the stability of the loader. Nevertheless, its regular examination at not too long intervals proved to be very important for its lifespan.

The standard G40 (1981-1994), on the other hand, could hardly be distinguished from the others. Besides the badge, you might recognize it by the red stripes in the bumpers and the slightly widened fenders. 10 millimeters lowering, a speedometer up to 240 km / h and seats in the GTI checked pattern rounded off the picture.

That's already the version from 1990. Not visible here, the new, angular headlights and the thereby significantly changed front and rear end including bumpers. The same was true for the dashboard. Below is an inexpensive variant called 'Fox', with a cloth instead of a rear shelf. One returned to the beginnings of the Polo.