And Now You Know The Rest Of The Story

"Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment" (evanmcm)
12/03/2013 at 01:21 • Filed to: None

Seeing that story about the Subaru Concept on the FP made me immediately think of these. I never really liked them, but they are very interesting. So, I decided once and for all to try to find out more about them. Turns out there was no other reason they were made other than that people seemed to like the Harlequin Polos in Europe. So they made 264 Mk. 3 Golf 5 Doors in this color scheme for the US. Fun fact...the Chagall Blue and Pistachio Green were not available at all on US cars apart from this model. Too bad too, the Pistachio Green is a beautiful color. Rumor has it that there is still one out there that has had all its panels swapped to be entirely this color. Of course, I didn't know any of this 5 minutes ago, I read it all right here:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/03/volksw…

The best part...it was written by our own Doug DeMuro. Excellent writing as always, Doug. Really glad I decided to investigate this just now.

DISCUSSION (17)

Anon > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
12/03/2013 at 01:32

That's actually pretty cool. I never knew that this model existed.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > Anon
12/03/2013 at 01:34

They are pretty hard to find, and I think I've only seen one ever. Just think...there's probably a few more Veyrons around than Harlequin Golfs.

lonestranger > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
12/03/2013 at 01:40

Thanks for the link. Having worked at a VW dealer in the mid-'90s, I thought I knew all there was to know about the Harlequin. I still learned a lot from Doug's article.

We were just a tiny little dealer, and we had one Harlequin. Thinking back now, though, the car was probably from our much larger parent dealer .

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
12/03/2013 at 01:43

having been at Eurohangar 2013, I can confirm there are some jettas made this way too. Cool cars up close, but not my personal taste. I'll stick with my own style of mods for a Mk3 :)

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > lonestranger
12/03/2013 at 01:46

Interesting...did you have any trouble selling it?

lonestranger > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
12/03/2013 at 01:55

IIRC, yes. It's a love-it or hate-it car, and most people hated it. It probably got shipped back to our parent dealer and sold there in Victoria, BC, because I don't think I ever saw it driving around here in Kamloops.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > lonestranger
12/03/2013 at 02:01

I see. Yeah they are very polarizing. I personally would never own one, but they are interesting at least.

Rainbow > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
12/03/2013 at 03:50

I've seen one on two separate occasions. Both times I failed to snap a picture. But damn, I want one.

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
12/03/2013 at 03:55

The SF chronicle featured a guys golf with that particular Panel-swapping design.

Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
12/03/2013 at 08:59

It was a showroom model for the people that like to drive cars with mismatched body panels.

parker99 > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
12/03/2013 at 10:01

There are a number of them kicking around in solid colors. A small handful at the end were assembled all in one color, my recollection was yellow most commonly but they do have the Harly vin.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > parker99
12/03/2013 at 12:37

Very interesting. I would love to see one of those.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > Rainbow
12/03/2013 at 12:42

They're like unicorns, that's for sure

Doug DeMuro > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
12/08/2013 at 14:36

Thanks! I loved writing this story and I love these cars. Haven't seen one in years, though I did see a Harlequin Polo at a rest stop in Europe a year or two ago. So weird! But people seem to love them.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > Doug DeMuro
12/10/2013 at 17:08

Very cool. Yeah I'd never drive one but they are interesting in a way. I really liked your article, I didn't know you wrote it till the end when the little blurb describing the author came into view. Quality work as always, Doug.

Doug DeMuro > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
12/10/2013 at 18:33

Thanks man! Very much appreciated.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > Doug DeMuro
12/12/2013 at 14:09

Of course!