A MINT POLO!
Charles Whilems: This car is a 1986 Polo C Formel E. The C is just the trim level, and the Formel E refers to the fact that it was a high compression engine with a stop/start system (I believe it was the first such system). They also came with a change-up and fuel economy meter on the dash, but for some reason this car never had any of those – and I know they were never fitted because my father bought it brand new.
It turned out to be the last car that my dad had. I was around 20 years old when he bought it, and I inherited it in 2010 when he died. The Polo was 24 years old at that point and was well used, including having moved the contents of dad’s workshop three times. I remember loading it up to the roof, getting on the road and finding I was looking at the sky; then I’d try the brakes and find nothing happened because it was so much heavier than normal.
To be honest I didn’t have a real emotional attachment to the VW lived on the street. When I had a cycling accident and hurt my back, I remember sitting in the Polo people-watching because it was the most comfortable seat I had! The car had been knocked about a bit over the years too, and I think every panel had some damage or other, even the roof. The worst was a hole in the rear quarter where it had been caught on a bench vice when reversing
