昔路上で遭遇したこんな車、
ははは、凝ってるなぁ。ナンバーが"LEGO VW"なんでレゴのプロモーション用ゴルフかな？とかずーっと思っていた。
そしたら今日こんな記事が。
おお、まさにこの車！と思ったけれど色使いがちょっと違う。んで本文読み込んでみると、
For those of you not familiar, the Harlequin is one of the sweetest and strangest cars in automotive history. These cars were almost as a gaffe or a callback to a 1960 VW ad showing a multicolor Beetle built using interchangeable parts. In 1995, VW made a Harlequin Polos by attaching body panels from different color cars on the assembly line into single, multicolor vehicles. VW planned on making a thousand of those Polos, but they were so well received that VW made 3,800 in 1995. In ‘96, VW followed up the Polo with 264 Harlequin Golfs, just as odd as the Polos that came before it. We got the Golfs here in America, the Polos we did not. I have seen a few in the wild; there is not a single person on Earth who does not smile when a Harlequin drives by.
フォルクスワーゲンが昔に行った、「ハーレクイン」という仕様だった。色違いの車のパーツをとっかえてこんなおちゃめな仕様にして売り出そう、というもの。1960年にビートルで広告打ったのが始まりだけど、1995年にポロの実車を3,800台販売。それに引続き翌年ゴルフで264台生産。アメリカにはゴルフのみ輸入されたみたいだけれど、これの一台だったというわけ。めちゃ希少価値のある車じゃないですか。
オーナーの登録サイトもあって、もちろんこの車も。
Owner: Ian & Kelly Abbott, San Jose, CA
Base color: Ginster Yellow
Transmission: 5-speed Manual
Steering Wheel Style: Newer (I assume)
Production Date: 6/96
VIN: 3VWFA81H9TM113471, # 153 of 200 run
Comments: I last spoke with Ian 3 years ago, and he emailed me the info on his car. His license plate reads "LEGO VW". The car now (June, 2005) Has RONAL Bear wheels, which Ian and Kelly felt were a natural addition to their Harlequin. Click on the picture for a couple close ups.
ご近所さんじゃないですかw。まあ路上で遭遇したんだから当たり前かもだけど。
