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

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...