50 YEARS OF POLO: PROJECT DRIFT - CELEBRATING THE ICONIC POLO THE SA WAY!
Fifty years. Half a century. That’s how long the Volkswagen Polo has been punching way above its weight. Born in 1975 as a humble hatchback, the Polo has grown into one of the most recognisable names in motoring - a car that’s equally at home ferrying families, clocking up rally stage wins, or becoming someone’s very first taste of driving freedom. And nowhere is that story more alive than here in South Africa, the proud “Home of Polo.” To celebrate this milestone, Volkswagen didn’t just cut a cake or roll out a heritage display. Instead, they dropped a tyre-shredding, smoke-filled tribute called “50 Years of Polo: Project Drift”, a film that drags the Polo’s motorsport icons out of the history books and sets them loose on the streets and landscapes of Nelson Mandela Bay, right through to Kariega - the heart of Polo production today.
Behind the wheel? None other than Johan Kristoffersson, seven-time FIA World Rallycross Champion and two-time Gymkhana Grid champ. If anyone knows how to send a Polo into a four-wheel slide with laser precision, it’s him.
And what a lineup he had at his disposal. The Polo WRX. The Polo R WRC. The all-electric Polo RX1e. Even a fan-voted Harlequin-liveried Polo R Supercar. Oh, and of course, the proudly South African-built Polo GTI. Each one gets its moment in the spotlight before Kristoffersson reveals the big surprise: the ID. Polo. This near-production EV hatch is Volkswagen’s vision of where the Polo badge goes next, blending everyday practicality with cutting-edge tech and clean, efficient power. It will officially debut at the IAA Mobility show in Munich, but South Africa got the first smoke-show reveal.
For Volkswagen, this wasn’t just about nostalgia. As Jens Katemann, Head of Communications for the Volkswagen Brand, put it: “We not only want to look back, but forward too… the ID. Polo’s first appearance in a spectacular and surprising way stands for everything quintessential of the Polo: a small car that can do great things and is geared towards the future.”
The video also doubles as a love letter to South African Polo production. Shot across Nelson Mandela Bay, it opens at the Port of Gqeberha before taking viewers on a high-speed blast through Plant Kariega itself - the only factory in the world that builds the Polo GTI and, since 1996, the main export hub for the Polo to Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Andile Dlamini, Head of Group Communications at Volkswagen Group Africa, summed it up perfectly: “It was an honour for Plant Kariega to be showcased in this globally-released video commemorating the history and future of the Polo. We are proud to be such a big part of the Polo success story.”
From first cars to rally podiums, from petrol power to electric futures, the Polo has been the little Volkswagen that could. And if “Project Drift” proves anything, it’s that 50 years in, the Polo still knows how to party - sideways, in a cloud of tyre smoke, with South Africa as its stage.
Take a look at the YouTube video that shows off the culmination of 50 years of the VW Polo at VWSA's Kariega plant with none other than Johan Kristoffersson in the pilot's seat: 50 Years of an Icon: Polo Project Drift — The Film | Volkswagen News
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