Skip to main content

Ratty Rescue: Rare Rabbit Roadster

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

Here’s something a bit different for this week’s Ratty Rescue. There are rare cars, and there are Jackrabbit Speedsters. Apparently, fewer than 25 of these build-it-yourself cars were made; who knows how many still exist. It’s perfect for someone looking for a truly unique ride.

Back in the 1990s, a former General Motors engineer sought to make a modern kit car. Unlike the Beetle-based kit cars of the 60s and 70s, the Jackrabbit Speedster uses modern watercooled engines and are front-wheel drive. Jackrabbits have a unique tube frame, so only the drivetrain and suspension are needed from a donor car.

This particular Speedster appears to have an interesting history. Herb Adams, the designer and engineer, allegedly built all the Jackrabbits, and this may be the original prototype. You’ll need to do your homework to be sure. In doing our own research, a number of links popped up for classified ads for this very car in March and August of 2017. Since then the car has found its way to Reno, Nevada from Carmel, California and we stumbled upon it on craigslist.

01515_7m94q6bwzan_1200x900

In addition to moving, the car has also had some mechanical work done. The seller states the car starts and runs. The brakes now work properly. The seller updated the fuel injection system. The Jackrabbit has a new clutch cable and four “good” tires (the ad does not say they are new). Some things the car still needs: working gauges, fiberglass repairs, headlights, windshield wiper. The scissor ‘doors’ don’t work: they are bolted in place, sadly.

So if you’re looking for a unique project, this could be the car for you. While it won’t set the world on fire with a 1.6L Rabbit engine, you can install just about any VW engine. This car is screaming for a 2.0L 16V engine with a freeflow exhaust. Since there’s no top you can bask in the glorious sounds as you search for curvy back roads. Did we mention the car only weighs 1500 pounds? Marketing materials from the 90s stated the Jackrabbit could pull over 1G on the skidpad with decent tires.

Check out the ad on craigslist. The car is in Reno Nevada, and the seller is asking $5,000.

The post Ratty Rescue: Rare Rabbit Roadster appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2Anl25v
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

Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway

Waterfest 24 will be held at Atco Dragway, in Atco, New Jersey. The summer event will take place at its new venue on July 21 and 22. Long held in Englishtown, New Jersey, the festival has been such a large part of the VW scene that the latest iteration of the Golf even comes with optional “Englishtown” wheels . The new venue, however, is an NHRA drag track a scant 52 miles southwest of Englishtown. The ¼ mile drag track opened in 1960, which makes it the oldest drag strip in New Jersey. The announcement came today on a social media post that announced the new location. Waterfest is North America’s largest VW/Audi show. As many 20,000 people show up for the annual show, making the second largest show in the world—with Worthersee being number one. 2018 will be Waterfest’s 24 th year in existence. The post Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2GQjkuc via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan

Filed under: Government/Legal , Green , Mitsubishi , Fuel Efficiency , Japan Mitsubishi says its shady fuel-economy test practices may have been used on all vehicles it sells and has sold in Japan. Continue reading Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 May 2016 12:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/21X3bHv
Post a Comment
Read more