Skip to main content

Find of the Day: 84 Rabbit GTI, Driver Edition

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

We all know the magic that was the MKI GTI. In the late ’70s Volkswagen engineers took an everyday basic car, stuffed it with a hopped up engine, bolted on some suspension bits, swapped out chrome trim for something a little darker, and an entirely new class of car was born: the hot hatch. Introduced to the states in 1983, the Rabbit GTI was an instant hit.

Magazines gushed over the zippy engine and the tight handling of this little juiced up hatchback. The MKI GTI is the car that all other hot hatches are compared to. Journalists and seasoned enthusiasts pine for the raw nature of the original car to this day.

Pine no more, because here is the holy grail of MKI GTIs: an unrestored, recently updated, low mile driver. Take a look at the pictures and what you’ll see is the automotive equivalent of a favorite pair of old jeans. They may be rough around the edges, but the tears and frays give them true character. It illustrates the journey they’ve been on. They have history. Real history and not holes and tears added at the factory. No, these jeans, er, this car has been around the block. Many times. At a high rate of speed with the rear inside tire catching air on every corner; the driver’s grin wide as the passenger yelps in fear.

This car has had fun. And now you can have fun too.

158468

The seller states (in Comic Sans – had to be noted) over $4,000 in work has been completed recently. Updates include new headgasket, timing belt, engine mounts, hoses, radiator, wheel bearings, front calipers, tires, struts, springs, and a whole bunch more. Enhancements include upper strut brace, Techtonics exhaust, Wevo shift knob, and a Nardi steering wheel.

Only two items are not in working order: the rear washer and the air conditioning. While there’s a risk in buying any older car, this one looks as though it could be driven anywhere after purchase.

If you’re interested, act fast: bidding on this little gem ends on Sunday. With some cosmetic work the buyer could have a simple restoration to near showroom condition. But if it were mine I’d heavily debate how much attention to give this car.

Yes MKI GTIs are getting more rare, and the value could go up if restored properly, but the age and the wear on this car just make it that more charming. Drive it to the home improvement store, to the movies, to your kid’s little league game: there’s no need to worry about dents, dings, puddles, or scratches. It’s the old pair of jeans that you wear to run errands, to walk the dog, and to watch football in. It’s a part of you that is not meant to be perfect, just meant to be enjoyed.

You can find the auction on eBay.

The post Find of the Day: 84 Rabbit GTI, Driver Edition appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2p5u02b
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Saying Goodbye to the CC V6

For all its size and its global reach, Volkswagen is still, in many ways, a deeply human company. There was, for instance, the Bugatti Veyron an ego project if ever there was one. Then the purchase of Ducati, a move most called folly. And then there was the Phaeton, the Volkswagen that most folks can’t afford. Not only were these moves all strange, I’m sure that they made VW’s accountants furious. None of them made good business sense, but they were all deeply interesting and they all are evidence of the heart that beats at the center of VW. Among these follies is the CC, a car that everyone agrees is rakishly handsome, but that no one really wanted to buy. The car couldn’t last, but the world is brighter for its having been in it. With the approach debut of the Arteon, it seems like a good time to look back on its sadly departing predecessor. The version I drove, because I live in Canada, is a V6 Wolfsburg Edition, which apparently isn’t available in the States. Nor is the V6, not as...
Post a Comment
Read more

T-Prime Makes World Premiere at Beijing

[ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] The SUV segment is one of the fastest growing segments in the world and Volkswagen is showing the world how to do it. With the new T-Prime Concept GTE that was revealed today, the company is showing off all of the technology you can look for in its coming models. The T-Prime is a full-size hybrid SUV that can go up to 31 miles on a charge and gets 87 mpg. The hybrid power station is good for 375 hp and 516 lb/ft of torque and puts the power down with 4MOTION all wheel drive. It’ll get you up to 60 in six seconds. The concept’s real party piece, though, is its interior, which features exclusively touch, gesture, and voice controls. Everything from the infotainment, to the display, and even the gears are controlled by touch-screen. The T-Prime Concept GTE is bigger than the Touareg, and design elements are likely to find their way into all of their SUVs, of which there will be many. Volkswagen is also announcing that they expect to make an S...
Post a Comment
Read more

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...
Post a Comment
Read more