Skip to main content

Ratty Rescue: Patchwork Hatchback

Today’s Ratty Rescue could be the oddest car Volkswagen sold in the United States. This colorful little hatchback needs a new owner. If you’ve ever wanted something that looks like it travels with Ringling Brothers, then this 1996 Harlequin Golf may be the car for you.

Harlequin Golfs have an intriguing history. The first Harlequin model was actually a German-market Polo. Originally, VW execs expected to sell only 1,000 of these multi-color hatchbacks, but they were so popular, they cranked out over 3500 of them. For some unknown reason, they thought Americans might love a similar limited-edition Golf. So in 1996, the Puebla assembly plant built 66 Golf GLs in each of these four colors: Ginster Yellow, Chagall Blue, Pistachio Green, and Tornado Red. Puebla workers then swapped all of the removable body panels onto other cars in a specific pattern. The pattern ensured each body panel was never next to a body panel of the same color. Rather ingenious.

The 264 Harlequin Golfs then made their way to very puzzled dealerships. Many sat for months before they sold (and a great discount). There are even rumors of dealerships gathering multiple Harlequins, disassembling them, then reassembling them into single-color cars.

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

This 1996 Harlequin Golf looks to be in decent condition. While the classified ad is brief, it contains the basic information. This is car #133 of 264. It has the standard 2.oL four-cylinder engine mated to a manual transmission. The car sits on what appear to be 15″ 5 spoke GTI wheels. Harlequins came with 4×100 wheels, so this one’s running adapters or it’s been converted to 5 lugs.

There are some questionable items on the car. First is the rebuilt title, courtesy of a “fender bender.” Second is the re-spray of the stock colors. Third is the black leather interior that replaces the original cloth seats. And fourth is the “dimpled” dashboard from a later-model Cabrio. Mileage is not listed.

You can see the car in Quakertown Pennslyvania, or check out the ad on thesamba.com. They’re asking $5000 or “make offer.” While the price may be a little steep, Harlequin Golfs often command a premium over standard models. If you’re looking for what may be the oddest limited edition Volkswagen sold on on our shores, this should be your next car.

The post Ratty Rescue: Patchwork Hatchback appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2E5WdKA
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Volkswagen Golf GTE Wins Top Honor at the 2015 Business Techies Awards

Golf GTE wins Green category in the 2015 BusinessCar Fleet Technology awards Judges praised the Golf GTE for its performance, ease of use and economy Golf GTE launched earlier this year with plug-in hybrid technology – priced from £33,755 204 PS performance combined with CO 2  emissions of just 39 g/km Volkswagen has added to its growing list of 2015 automotive industry accolades by winning the Green category in the annual BusinessCar Fleet Technology Awards – the Techies. The prestigious title was awarded to Volkswagen for the Golf GTE, an innovative plug-in hybrid that combines sporty dynamics with exceptional fuel economy and low CO 2  emissions. Now in their seventh year, the Techies are judged by both BusinessCar’s experienced editorial panel with help from TRL’s technology expert. The industry’s only technology-specific awards, the BusinessCar Techies reward the use of technology to make business car fleet operations easier, cheaper, cleaner, safer and more straig...
Post a Comment
Read more