Rainbow-flavoured Volkswagen Polo Harlequin returns

The Volkswagen Polo Harlequin has returned to the Netherlands, paying tribute to the multicoloured original that was sold briefly back in 1995.

Far more than just a trim or model variant, the original Harlequin based on the third-generation Volkswagen Polo was a masterclass in car manufacturing that not many marques would have dared attempt back in the mid-1990s.

Volkswagen didn't originally intend to sell the rainbow-inspired hatch at all, but ended up shifting an impressive 3800 cars after customers bullied the German car-maker into making a small batch of them.

A complete fluke, the patchwork Polo only happened after Volkswagen introduced a colour coding system to help buyers order their cars more easily.

Blue was for the engine and chassis, yellow for equipment, red for the options and green for the paint.

To publicise the simpler ordering system, Volkswagen made 20 multicoloured Polos and the Harlequin was born.

To build one Polo Harlequin required Volkswagen to build four cars that then had the panels swapped on a separate production line.

Other changes included a blue leather-wrapped steering wheel and a joker upholstery trim that references the Harlequin name, a premium Blaupunkt stereo and unique decals.

Despite being created for the Netherlands, the original Polo Harlequin was never officially sold in the Dutch market, although many were imported from nearby Germany.

For now, Volkswagen Netherlands says the Polo Harlequin is a one-off to pay homage to the original.

It's not known if demand from buyers will force it to rethink that decision.