Motoring
Check out this unique modified Volkswagen Polo / Cross hybrid
SlammedUK's Jordan Clarke interviews the creator of a one-of-a-kind VW Polo, modified with the four door VW cross. Find out how Charlie Hartill came up with the concept and made it reality.
This month I have my eye on Charlie Hartill's 3Door Polo/Cross concept as it's a completely different and impressive way of modifying such a common car in the UK modified car world.
Charlie’s car first caught my eye at our SlammedUK Gravity Show back in July 2018 and I've wanted to find out more about it ever since! I talked to Charlie about his inspiration behind the design and the challenges of building the car.
Jordan Clarke: First of all, can you tell us exactly what the car is?
The VW Cross isn't available in the UK, which provided challenges
© Charlie Hartill
Charlie Hartill: My car is a 2011 Volkswagen Polo/Cross hybrid, combining the much loved three-door Polo 6r with the rugged off-road trim style of the four-door VW Polo Cross – something that to my knowledge has not been done before. This has made what I like to call the ‘Polo Crossconcept.’
What was your inspiration for this build and how much planning went into it?
The inspiration for my build came from two places really; one being Instagram and a chap named Sam Eaton (@_yeknom_), who I had been following for some time. He had completed a ‘Dune Conversion’ on the VW Polo 9n3 model that I had been interested in watching. However, sadly the car was involved in an accident. I then decided that I would follow on from his and build my car as a sort of homage.
The next area I drew inspiration from was seeing that the majority of Polos in the scene are very similar in the way they are modified, and I really wanted to move away from this and do something totally different by building a complete one-off. Which, without blowing my own trumpet, I believe I have managed to achieve pretty well!
This modification of the Polo is totally unique to the scene
© Charlie Hartill
Why did you go down this route rather than something like a wide-body kit, which seems to be the trend at the moment?
I mean, wide-bodied cars are cool, but I think there’s just a lot more satisfaction in turning something as mass-produced genuine parts and switching them up to make something that not even the manufacturer had thought of. There’s just something so satisfying about that for me.
Was there a lot of work involved in the fitting of the new parts or was it as easy as purchasing the relevant bumpers and fitting them?
There was quite a lot of work involved, mostly to do with modifying the door trims, as the front door on a three-door is a lot longer and a different shape to a five-door. The most difficult part was probably making the door gaps which is still an ongoing task of mine. Other than that, it was just sourcing the parts as there are little-to-no second-hand parts on used sites due to the ‘Cross’ model not being available in the UK, so I had to get all the parts genuine from VW. Which I must say makes it a lot harder to then chop them into sections and remake, as they aren’t the cheapest of parts! But I think that this route of sourcing the best original parts lend to the quality and uniqueness of the build.
Low stance
© Charlie Hartill
What’s your favourite thing about the car?
I think my most favourite thing about my car has got to be the seats – they are ‘Lotus Evora Recaros.’ After a lot of searching and many years of scrolling through pictures of cars with them on Instagram, I finally have a set of my own and I don’t think I will ever sell them –they are just so comfortable and something I’ve always wanted.
Lotus Evora Recaro seats
© Charlie Hartill
If you were to build another car what do you think you’d go for?
I think that if I were to build another car it’d have to be something old school and Japanese, I really have a soft spot for the Mazda FC Rx7 – I’d love to build one of those, nothing too flashy.
But my heart is very much with the VAG cars after doing my apprenticeship with them. My other choice would be a new shape Golf and I'd probably modify it along the same lines that I’ve done with the Polo, but we’ll have to see what the future holds.
