The VW Polo Edition 50 Helps Celebrate The Polo’s Big 5-0

It’s a pretty amazing achievement for a car nameplate to make it to 50 years on sale, and this year, the humble VW Polo joined that illustrious club alongside stuff like the Porsche 911, Range Rover and its own big sibling, the Golf.

In the world of cars, not much says ‘major model anniversary’ like a good special edition, and inevitably enough, one’s just come along for the Polo – the aptly-named Edition 50.

More often than not, these limited edition things tend to be spun off the top-spec versions of a car, but appropriately for a mass-market hero like the Polo, the Edition 50 comes with one of its more junior powertrains – a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder making 94bhp, and paired exclusively with a five-speed manual. Yep, no DSG fanciness here, or even anything as decadent as a sixth gear.

If other identically-powered Polos are anything to go by, that should be good for 0-62mph in 10.8 seconds and a 117mph top speed. The Edition 50 teams this pared-back powertrain with some kit you’d usually find on a posher Polo – it features a tilt/slide panoramic roof, rear-view camera, keyless entry and start, and dual-zone climate control and air-con.

You’ll be able to tell it apart from other Polos largely by a paint colour that VW calls Crystal Blue, but looks more like silver to us. It’s a shade not available elsewhere on the UK Polo range. You’ll also find 17-inch wheels, plenty of ‘50’ badges on the outside, and a pair of uniquely trimmed Edition 50 sports seats and some gloss black inserts on the inside.

VW says the Edition 50 will only be available in limited numbers, but doesn’t say how limited these numbers are – more than 50, presumably. On sale from 19 June, it’ll cost £26,350, slotting it between the faux-sporty R-Line and poshed-up Black Edition in the Polo Range.