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W O R L D - R E C O R D - B R E A K I N G G With the new G-Lader technology, the Polo set a world speed record on 13 August 1985. In a 24-hour record-breaking drive on the Volkswagen proving grounds in Ehra-Lessien, the average speed of 208.13 km/h was much higher than the existing record of 168.63 km/h in the 1,300 cc class. The modified prototype was piloted by rally professional and Volkswagen factory driver Jochi Kleint. 10 50 YEARS OF POLO SPORTY POLO 11 With the Polo, Volkswagen focused on motorsport from an early stage. It started out as a way to get up-and-coming talent into touring car racing. Later, they moved into the world of rally driving before going on to become World Champions in rallycross. POLO CUP Let’s get in on the action. In 1983, the Polo began causing a stir on the racetrack. In the very first Polo Cup, the racing cars were still equipped with classic naturally aspirated engines. Two Solex twin carburettors increased the output to 59 kW (88 PS) – enough to let the lightweight Polo really fly over the kerbs. Things sped up even more between 1986 and 1989 when the 82 kW (112 PS) Polo G40 was used in the Cup. After a long break, the one-make cup event enjoyed a revival in 2004. Until 2009, up-and-coming drivers had the chance to prove themselves in the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup. With a displacement of two litres, the Polo IV delivered a hefty 110 kW (150 PS). The most well-known champion was René Rast, who went on to win the DTM three times. POLO R SUPERCAR I RALLYCROSS Volkswagen Motorsport also built on its success in the World Rally Championship with its involvement in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. Based on the WRC Polo, the 570 PS Polo R Supercar hit the track in 2017 and 2018. Johan Kristoffersson won the driver’s title twice and, together with Petter Solberg, also won the team title for PSRX Volkswagen Sweden. In 2020, Kristoffersson made a comeback in a privateer Polo R Supercar, securing the World Championship title once again.

At this time, Giorgetto Giugiaro, who also creates the Passat and the Scirocco, is already in charge of the design. Under the direction of chief designer Herbert Schäfer, the Golf is further developed for series production. 1969–1971 VOLKSWAGEN EA 337 Step-by-step Golf Initially with rectangular headlights and a flatter windscreen, then further refined. Sporty centre Good overall concept, but room for improvement in the detail. 1969 VOLKSWAGEN EA 276 8 | 9 50 J ah re G ol f Sc hö pf un g ENTERING A NEW AGE Clear lines, pure design – the new Volkswagen was a revolutionary development in 1974. Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the Golf and created an icon, no less. Giorgetto Giugiaro, one of the most important automotive designers of our time, stands for simplicity and innovative design – and he also played an important role for Volkswagen. With the creation of a new model family, Giugiaro also designed Volkswagen’s new style from 1970. Maestro Giugiaro still likes to remember the creation of the Golf even after decades, and spoke about it with the Volkswagen Classic editorial team at Italdesign in Turin a few years ago. At the first meeting in Wolfsburg in January 1970, the then Volkswagen CEO Kurt Lotz quickly got to the point: ‘We want you to design a successor to the Beetle for us. And we will be satisfied if the space in the interior is about the same as that of the Beetle,’ recalled Giugiaro. There were also already specifications from Volkswagen: ‘They showed me sketches and diagrams, and then talked about the project of an entire model family and asked if I would be prepared to take on the task – and I was extremely happy about this opportunity.’ The ideas about the new model type were just as specific. ‘The new mass-produced car should be a modern compact car with a boot lid – in other words, a variable vehicle in line with the new trend. Volkswagen already recognised that correctly back then.’

R Records. Volkswagen Records. ID. R Records. 1 Americans also call the hill climb on Pikes Peak the “Race to the Clouds”. At times, the ID. R was actually above the clouds in the top section of the route, on the final kilometres before the summit. 2 Romain Dumas has driven pretty much anything on four wheels over the course of his career – from desert buggy at the Dakar Rally to LMP1 prototype for his two victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He claimed his fourth victory on Pikes Peak with the Volkswagen ID. R. 3 Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets is visibly relieved – shortly after Romain Dumas’ record attempt, a change in the weather brought heavy hailstorms. “That is one of the features of this race – you need to have a bit of luck too,” said Smeets. Pikes Peak was merely the beginning. When Romain Dumas guided the fully-electric ID. R to a new all- time record of 7:57.148 minutes at the most famous hill climb in the world on 24 June 2018, it heralded the start of a pursuit of a host of other international records. On that particular summer’s day in the US state of Colorado, Dumas also laid down the first marker in the most ambitious project in the history of Volkswagen Motorsport. “We did not have any predecessor. We literally started from scratch,” recalls François-Xavier Demaison, Technical Director at Volkswagen Motorsport. The challenge was huge. Starting at 2,862 metres and finishing at the summit at 4,302 metres above sea level, the “Pikes Peak International Hill Climb”, which was held for the first time in 1916, is widely regarded as the most demanding hill climb in the world. But the engineers had already been in record-breaking mood before the car even arrived at the race: thanks to the extensive use of computer simulations and innovative production methods, such as 3D printing, a mere 250 days passed between the start of the project and the rollout – the first functional test at a racetrack.