I can see how some random person on the street would look at a Harlequin Volkswagen and expect the four-shade paint job to be some sort of protest. And while the work actually represents a brilliant example of VW creativity, the idea of giving a Porsche 918 Spyder a Harlequin makeover is pure genius… or a car community inside joke that might make some people angry.
We can trace the idea of a Harlequin VW back to 1964 when the carmaker introduced an ad showcasing a Beetle with mismatching body panels—the point was to highlight the interchangeable parts of the Bug.
However, Volkswagen put the concept into production in 1995, when it released the Mk3 Polo Harlequin for Europe. The panels of the subcompact, which were swapped post-production, came finished in Tornado Red, Chagall Blue, Ginster Yellow, and Pistachio Green. And while the carmaker was initially planning to test the waters via limited production, the popularity of the color mix meant it made over 3,000 Polo Harlequins.
As for how the U.S. got its share of the multi-colored shenanigan, this came in the form of the 1995 Golf Harlequin (Mk3), of which 246 units were built for the American market.
Just like in the case of many other cars that are revered today, the Harlequin Golf wasn’t all that popular with American consumers. After all, the dramatic paint job covered a car that was usually destined for people who didn’t want to stand out.
Nowadays, though, the internet has spread the word about this Vee-Dub madness and Harlequin Golfs sell for big money as far as Mk3 Golfs go, as properly-maintained examples have fetched around $25,000 apiece in recent years on sites like Bring a Trailer or Cars and Bids.
As you can imagine, the not-so-small VW community in America loves its customization, so you don’t necessarily need to trace one of the rare factory examples to enjoy a Harlequin—or even stick to a Vee-Dub, as this Harlequin Audi R8 shows.
Over the years, the multi-colored take has even made its way onto a few custom Porsches. One of the most notable examples saw Virginia-based sneaker designer Sean Wotherspoon showcasing a Harlequin Taycan last year.
The 918 Spyder Harlequin is a wrap
Well, a European customization specialist has recently upped the ante by giving this Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach (originally a GT Silver Metallic car) a Harlequin wrap! And, just to be sure nobody mistakes it for anything else, they threw in a Harlequin Polo for a photoshoot.
As stated in the name of the yet-unreplaced Porsche halo car, just 918 units rolled off the production line between 2013 and 2015, but this one is the most outlandish I’ve seen to date.
The vinyl job was applied by a Dutch company called Next Level Cars, which paid attention to the original Polo and Golf when coming up with the Harlequin 918. And I say that because the front bumper and the doors of the 875 hp plug-in hybrid hypercar match.
Of course, since this is a two-seater with a removable roof, they couldn’t fully follow the Harlequin recipe, which also involved matching rear doors, a matching grille, and front fenders, along with the original color (before the factory-completed panel swap) being found on the roof, rear quarter panels and rocker panels.
Harlequin + carbon fiber
The downforce-boosting Weissach Package adds genuine carbon fiber to the “usual” Harlequin mix. For the record, the kind of wrap seen on the Harlequin 918 usually costs (well) over $10,000, depending on factors like the exact vinyl used.
The 918 Spyder Harlekin (this is the German spelling of Harlequin, which they actually used on the Porsche) is an art car and probably the best way one could ever protect that factory paint—so there you have it, purists, the perfect two-in-one.
Now, if you can’t make up your mind on whether to point your finger towards the sky or the floor when seeing this Porscha, perhaps the video below, which shows the 918 Spyder Harlekin being driven in Austria, can help with that—YouTuber 912fordgt also caught a Guards Red 918 Spyder attending the Sportwagenfestival Velden 2023 with the multi-colored example.
