Car test Classics – Almost nobody knows this Volkswagen Polo G40

We understand very well that the tourists who walk through the old harbor of Harlingen are unaware that the red Volkswagen Polo that we photograph there has a special story.

Yes, this is a Volkswagen Polo G40 but you can only tell by that small plate under the Polo Coupé.

Volkswagen itself never sold this car, the Polo GT G40. After an initial series of 500 units (which were only delivered in Germany) of Volkswagen’s first production model with the so-called G-charger technology, the brand decided to make another 1,500. The first 500 from 1987 still came into the world with a red GT badge, the second edition had to do without. From that second series, 500 copies went to France. The German and French buyers could only choose from a few colours: white, blue or red, in addition to the black with which only the first edition was available. The GT badge disappeared, but the model was still officially called GT G40. There was a modest red plate on the butt with the indication G40 in black. The same image adorned the grille. To better control the motor forces, the 1,500 Polos of the second series were fitted with harder dampers and a chassis lowered by 20 millimetres.

Later G40 much better known, often as Genesis

This early GT G40 is really a Polo for connoisseurs, as will be clear after the above. A little enthusiast will definitely know the Polo G40, but will mainly think of generation 86C 2f, which stands for the updated version of the Polo that appeared at the end of 1990. You can recognize it by the rectangular headlights, the larger taillights and the new interior. This Polo was available as a regular G40, which you could simply order in the Netherlands. It had 13-inch BBS alloy wheels and larger G40 badging. He also appeared as Polo Genesis; At the time, VW sometimes linked versions of their models to (the sponsorship of) well-known rock bands. Think of the Golf Rolling Stones and the various Pink Floyd editions. The Polo G40 that was in the showroom from 1990 to 1994 did it with the same 1.3 four-cylinder as the ancestor. Thanks to an identical G-charger – a mechanical compressor connected to the crankshaft by a belt – this block was propelled to great heights. What is called: the goat went from 75 to 115 hp! The power was slightly reduced by installing a catalytic converter, but the G40 was also fast enough with 113 hp. All data is known for the latter version.

The much more famous Volkswagen Polo G40, the 86c 2F, you could get it from us.

Difficult to find specifications of first G40

If, like us, you search for the specifications of the earliest Polo GT G40, you can just surf for a few hours without becoming much wiser. The knowledge and information are simply hardly available, such as the time that stands for the sprint to 100 km/h. Even the editors’ beloved Swiss car yearbooks, which are packed with data, do not state an exact value. About 9 seconds, as we read in the 1987 edition. That seems to us to be a prudent prediction; we know from the later Polo (2f) that it can get the job done in 8.6 seconds and the first G40 is even lighter too – count your profit. Volkswagen Classic holds it at 8.8 seconds. This makes the G40 slightly less fast than the Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9 with catalytic converter, which produces 122 hp. Our Polo stands on 13-inch alloy wheels, which you also saw under the many Polootjes Coupé that left the showroom in the 1980s. Back then with a maximum of 75 hp, but that was the car of someone who opened the door for the top version with the 1.3 four-cylinder. Most of the Polos did it with 1,050 cc at the time, with powers of around 50 hp. That the 1.3 was already quite something at the time is evident from the fact that VW linked that engine to the GT equipment. This brings us to the starting point for the G40, because this variant was the first G charger.

Tough tube to the intercooler.

G-charger as a magic wand

Although Volkswagen launched its first 16-valve, the Scirocco GTX 16V, in 1985, it was at the same time looking for another means for more power than multi-valve technology. Not the Golf, of which a 16-valve also appeared, but the small Polo was the first to benefit from it. As early as 1985, a prototype with a G40 power source that had been boosted to 129 hp drove 24 hours straight on a test track. Result: almost 5,000 kilometers in 24 hours, with an average speed of 208 km/h. Remarkably enough, Volkswagen never participated in the turbo hype of the 1970s and 1980s. Wolfsburg firmly believed in the mechanical pressure filler that did not depend on the amount of exhaust gases to build up pressure.

G40 already at the bottom of the lesson

With the modest, according to the registration certificate 705 kilograms light Polo, you already notice an enthusiastic urge for higher speeds from 2,000 rpm. The characteristic G-lader sound is still buzzing at the bottom, announcing that something exciting is about to happen. As the revs rise, the buzz turns into a howl – the 1300 comes across as a much heavier engine. The acceleration increases and then the little VW doesn’t seem to like that tyrant in its nose either. Man, the Polo G40 is restless! Had one of those ignorant walkers boarded in the Harling harbor, he or she would have been completely overwhelmed by the forces of the G40. In fact, we are a bit like ourselves. The country roads of northwest Friesland go fast with a cart that leans over in bends and that feels more unstable as the speed increases. Especially when you have to brake. This Polo is as stable and sure as a Golf GTI or a fast Scirocco from the second half of the 1980s feels.

Polo G40 feels like experimental vehicle

With its straight-line performance, the G40 can certainly keep up with contemporaries such as the Peugeot 205 GTI, the Renault 5 GT Turbo and the Fiat Uno Turbo, but when it comes to cornering it has to let its two French friends go. This gives you more and more the idea that the Polo G40 was an experimental vehicle, intended to fine-tune the G-charger technology. Drivers were also allowed to do that, in the Polo Cup. In this racing class, in which souped-up, but atmospheric 1.3s appeared at the start, G40s later also roared over the asphalt. Our test car dates from 1989. The buyer settled into a chair with a typical upholstery for that time: diamonds! A red trim around the instrument panel referred to the potential of the hot hatchback just purchased. But that was it. Yes, there was a big tachometer to keep an eye on the G40 driver, but not as frantically as the pilot of a turbocharged car. Anyone who wanted to keep going in an Uno Turbo or 5 GT Turbo had to take a good look at the value indicated by the rev counter; at the bottom, the turbocharger did not give at all. The G-lader was not bothered by such a turbo lag; the spiral compressor with the shape of a snail shell (and with a little imagination the letter G) gained steam much earlier. And how!

The first G40 is an ordinary Polo with an engine executioner. Especially the special, always quite dragging power source with that characteristic sound makes it absolutely spectacular, while the car itself is not exceptional. As an anonymous testing ground for the G-lader technology, which appeared in a small edition, 35 years later it is a car that deserves a big podium. So that the little-known story of the G40 is not lost.