Genesis play Polo

Remembering a rock band special edition

The late eighties and early nineties were the golden era of the special edition, with manufacturers and dealers alike jumping on the bandwagon. In those days when base models really were basic and had little more than a full set of wheels, many of these 'specials' involved simply taking the base model and tarting it up with some stick-on stripes, maybe a sunroof or a better stereo if you were lucky, and a daft name (who remembers the Nissan Micra Wave? Yes, it genuinely existed and was a factory-built model!). There were a few better ones though that really were special with decent performance and/or luxury upgrades, and a recent sighting at a show reminded me of an interesting but forgotten example that neatly combines my interests in cars and music, but the version we got in the UK sadly wasn't a patch on that available elsewhere.

In the mid 1990s, Volkswagen became the major sponsor for European tours by several of the world's biggest rock bands, and a suitably-named car was produced as part of this sponsorship deal. The first of these was Genesis, who in 1993 were at the height of their commercial success with the line up of Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, and were embarking on a mammoth worldwide tour following the release of the We Can't Dance album. This tie-up with Volkswagen led to the production of the Polo Genesis, not just any old special edition but one endorsed by the band themselves. What more could a fan want? Now you could listen to your new Genesis album while driving around in an official Genesis car...

Publicity photo of the European Polo Genesis featuring the band.

The European-market Polo Genesis was a much more exciting car than the one we got in the UK, being based on the supercharged G40, the most powerful and now sought-after Polo of all. It was finished in a distinctive purple with seat fabric featuring musical instruments, and the band's logo was displayed in large letters on the rear wings, but it only came in left-hand drive form with the exception of a single RHD version built as the prize for a competition associated with the UK leg of the tour. There was also a Golf Cabriolet Genesis of similar appearance sold alongside it, but only in Germany and in small numbers.

In the band's home country though, the Polo Genesis was a strangely watered-down and much less special edition that was nowhere near as distinctive or desirable. Its base was the bottom of the range Fox trim in coupe or 'breadvan' form, and most came with the smallest one-litre engine and four-speed gearbox so there was no way they could match the high performance of their continental counterparts. They seemed to come in standard colours rather than the special purple, and the Genesis branding was much more subtle (just a small badge on the tailgate), so outwardly they just looked like common-or-garden basic Polos.

The UK Genesis edition just looked like a normal Polo.

The specification of the UK-market Polo Genesis was a weird mixture of basic and luxury. Being based on the poverty-spec Fox it lacked such essentials as a glovebox lid and a cigarette lighter, yet had a rev counter and digital clock that were only usually found on higher trim levels. The seats were trimmed in a special fabric, not the musical-themed one used on the European cars but a tartan pattern, and other quality features included a metal sunroof and tinted windows that looked strangely at odds with the basic wheeltrims and black bumpers. There is no mention of an upgraded audio system to make those Genesis tunes sound their best though, which is strange considering the target market.

Some Genesis fans might argue these differences are symbolic of the watering-down of the band itself: the full-fat European edition represents the brilliance of the Peter Gabriel era, whereas the bland UK version is more like their later commercial radio-friendly music with Phil Collins. Not me though: I think the European version is actually more like Ray Wilson, obscure, underrated but better than expected, while the UK one is Peter Gabriel, raucous, highly-strung, rather odd and not living up to the hype.

Both types of Polo Genesis were built only in 1993 and exact production figures are unknown, but there must have been many thousands. Volkswagen went on to repeat the exercise with three more bands, Pink Floyd in 1994, the Rolling Stones in 1995 and Bon Jovi in 1996, but in all of these cases the special edition cars were based on the Golf. Today around 500 Genesis editions remain on the road in the UK, down from almost 10,000 in 2001, and I suspect many of these are no longer in original condition as they are not immune from the modifications that are practically de rigeur on the 'Dub scene': chopped springs, banded wheels, rat look and so on. One of these cars must surely be the perfect form of transport for the hardcore Genesis fan and merchandise collector who has everything!

I know Chrysler made an Imperial Frank Sinatra edition in 1982, but are there any other music-related special editions out there, or are Volkswagen's rock band cars unique as a marketing exercise?