It was big in Europe. Over here not so much.
The family was down in Peoria, IL getting our daughter settled into her new job in Operations at Peoria International. We were driving back from something when I saw this rare VW on I-74. Since I was driving, wifey and kid unit did all the pictures. They didn’t get why I was all excited to see this gem living in Central Illinois.
The story of the VW Harlekin began in Europe in 1994 when an initial batch of multicolor Polos were built to demonstrate the then-new Mk 3’s production techniques and customization choices. They were meant for promotions, but consumers started asking about buying one. Fast forward to 1995 when Volkswagen decided to build 1000 of them, naming the car “Harlekin” and giving it special “Joker” plaid interior fabrics. A second run of 2800 cars followed because demand was high. Power was supplied by a 2.0-liter inline-four paired with a five-speed manual transmission. The 2.0-liter inline-four was rated at 115 horsepower when new.
Deciding to test the idea in the U.S., the company exhibited four prototype Golfs at North American auto shows in 1996. It went over so well that Golf Harlequins were built at VWās Puebla, Mexico plant, where the cars were painted a single color and then body panels were removed and redistributed among other vehicles, with no color bordering itself on an adjacent panel. The unibody elements on this example are, the front fenders and grille are Tornado Red, the front bumper cover, front doors are Pistachio Green, rear quarter is Ginster Yellow, and the hatch and hood are Chagall Blue. Ah but the concept bombed here with less than 300 sold. The cars sat on dealer lots and many of them were changed back to one color.
The car has a cult-like following here because there are only believed to be about a hundred of the examples left and a car that based at 13K new in 96 now sells for around 25 grand. Now my wife and daughter know why I went so nuts for them to grab pictures for this week’s spot.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my recent spot. I have lots of others on our site so don’t be shy about poking around. Come back next week for another one of my spots along with some of its history and have a great weekend.
Savage On Wheels 
If memory serves me well, I saw one at a parking lot while living in Georgia, USA. I didn’t know it was sold like this originally from the factory. We never stop learning.
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Thatās the fun part about car spotting
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