Skip to main content

Ratty Rescue: $750 VR6

Who doesn’t want cheap power? Today’s Ratty Rescue’s low cost can have you cruising the streets in a torquey V-6. Well, once you find a transmission.

Let us once again sing the praises of one of Volkswagen’s most incredible engines: the narrow-angle six-cylinder, or VR6. Before turbocharging was all the rage, the way to grant more thrust to cars was by adding cylinders. Both traditional 45-degree “V” six-cylinder motors and inline orientation are too big to fit in the engine bays of compact cars. Volkswagen split the difference by creating an inline “V” engine; the cylinders are staggered by only 15 degrees. This tiny powerhouse could fit in almost all of their cars and helped make their six-cylinder models seem a bit more upscale than their competitors.

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

When the MK4 Jetta debuted, the 2.8L VR6 was available right from the start in 1999. This 2001 Jetta is the top-of-the-line GLX model with leather interior, power windows and locks, sunroof, and 16″ alloy wheels. Many regard the GLX VR6 as a “poor man’s BMW” with its premium interior and torquey powerplant. The growl that comes from its buttery 174hp (hey, this was a lot at the time) is infectious. Is that a tunnel ahead? Lower the windows, open the sunroof and take in the underhood orchestra when you drop the Tiptronic transmission down a gear.

That is if you could drop it down a gear. First you’ll need to drop the entire transmission: it’s shot. Scour some parts yards, our classifieds, or your local Craigslist for a used one. If you’re really adventurous, swap in a manual transmission and never worry about another failed tranny again. Just don’t fry the clutch, which will be hard to avoid with that Chewbacca sounding engine up front.

If you’re looking for cheap power, take a look at the car in our classifieds. VWVortex member blkhothatch (who’s ironically selling a black sedan) just dropped the price to $750. You can see the car yourself in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The post Ratty Rescue: $750 VR6 appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2l3LI2e
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

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, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more