Volkswagen Derby

The Volkswagen Derby was the name first given by the German automaker Volkswagen to the booted saloon, three-box version of its Polo Mk1 supermini, sold between 1977 and 1981 in Europe. Later the Derby name was used by the Mexican Volkswagen subsidiary for the Polo Classic Mk3 saloon on its domestic market in the mid-1990s. With 72,412 sold in 1977 alone the car was initially popular, outselling the Polo in that year, but sales tailed off quickly. In Europe it was offered with 0.9, 1.1 and 1.3 litre four-cylinder engines of 40, 50 and 60 bhp, and the 1981 Derby Formel E was an economy-optimised version with a longer gearbox ratio and automatic engine turn-off at idle. The Derby name was dropped in 1984, when the saloon became the Polo Classic, and the first Mexican Derbys, launched by November 1994, were rebadged SEAT Cordoba Mk1 cars.