Volkswagen Polo (Mk 3 - 6N) 1994–2002

The Mark III Polo or Typ 6N, (sometimes referred to as the "Mark 4" by enthusiasts as it is the Polo's fourth guise) appeared in 1994, and was a completely new model (on a new chassis), available as 3- and 5-door hatchback versions, the latter making VW the last major European manufacturer to finally offer four doors in this class. It shared its platform with the SEAT Ibiza Mark 2. This platform actually used the floorpan of the Volkswagen Golf Mk3 (a multitude of mechanical parts and all of the suspension components were interchangeable among the three models). Although the dashboard and a number of mechanical components, including engines, were shared with the Ibiza, outwardly the two cars were different, with no shared body panels.

The saloon and estate versions of the Mark III were essentially rebadged SEAT Córdobas, which were launched a year earlier. They were referred to internally by Volkswagen as the Typ 6KV, and shared body panels with the SEAT model rather than the Polo hatchback models, with some cosmetic alterations such as new rear and front bumpers and headlights. The Volkswagen Caddy 9K van also shares the same platform and front-end styling as the 6KV models.

The Volkswagen Lupo and SEAT Arosa city cars were based on a shortened version of the Typ 6N platform, and shared many components.

Volkswagen Polo Mk3 #2

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Not sure why, but the most famous version of the Polo III (6N) was missing so far: The special edition Harlekin :)

To tell its story in short: Volkswagen apprentices built 20 cars for advertising purposes. They wanted to show the many possibilities to configure the Polo. Normally those prototypes would have been one-shot wonders and would have disappeared either in the VW museum or even be scrapped afterwards. But sometimes you can't predict customers. They immediately called their local dealers and even VW directly and asked for this special version of the Polo. So Volkswagen considered a small series production and finally started it 25 years ago (1995). The cars were built in the solid colors of green, yellow, red and dark blue. Afterwards they were put apart again in a special hall at the plant in Wolfsburg and put back together in four different patterns. For example (as visible in the pics) cars with a dark blue body got yellow rear doors, red front doors, green front fenders, a red bumper at the front and yellow hood as well as rear bumper. Next to that the Harlekin edition got special cloth seats, dark rear lights and a bit of otherwise optional equipment as standard. Originally, only 1,000 units were planned. In the end 3,806 units left the production. In Mexico a special edition of the Beetle followed and in the USA there also was a limited run of a Golf III Harlekin available.

Good to see the Harlequin Polo brought up... it wasn't Volkswagen's first time toying with color for marketing purposes:

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Polo 6N Harlekin

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