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The GT badge was one which appeared on Volkswagens in the late 1980s and early 1990s for the slightly less hot version of the GTI. My father purchased a 1987 Golf GT new, a Tornado Red two-door hatch that had the trimmings of the GTI with the familiar 8 valve, four-cylinder engine. It wasn’t a particularly fast car and was not without its problems, but I always appreciated the clean design of the Mk2 Golf. The same goes for the Mk2 Polo GT. It’s not exactly an exciting or exotic vehicle, but a clean design. It’s a car that could have done well and still could do well in the US market, speaking to those buyers who turned to the original Beetle for basic transportation. This 1993 example represents the final year for the Mk2 Polo and is currently on offer in Switzerland.
Let’s face it. Volkswagen Group of America is screwing us. I’ve touched on this topic before, but one glance at the current lineup on VW’s USA website leaves little to be desired. Nothing beyond the GTI, Golf R and Passat CC do much to stir emotions in the heart of the enthusiast. Now that Volkswagen has shot itself in the foot with this diesel scandal, unlucky consumers in the US can’t even specify one of these miserly oil burners. What’s an enthusiast to do? How about scouring Europe for anything built before 1992, as these vehicles are now legal to import stateside. Such is the case with this low mileage, late model 1988 Scirocco GT for sale in Dachau, Germany. This would be the last year for the Scirocco in the US market, however, Scirocco production would continue on through 1992, overlapping the Corrado in showrooms.
When is the last time you saw a Volkswagen Passat B3 on the road? I honestly can’t remember myself. With the B3, Volkswagen decided to finally use the Passat moniker in the US market, after a run of Dashers and Quantums. Those cars were always the outliers in the mid-sized sedan race and so it went with the B3 Passat. During a period when the Honda Accord was the king in this segment in the US, the Passat was a car for those who wanted something off the beaten path but maybe weren’t ready to move into an Audi, BMW or Mercedes. It’s front end sans grille harkened back to the days of their air-cooled products but the rest of the styling was a bit of an evolution of the B2 Passat with a bit of streamlining for the 1990s. This Passat GT for sale in Hannover, Germany was a model we didn’t see in the US. It’s 1.8 liter engine won’t set the world on fire, but the Sebring alloy wheels and two tone red/black livery is eye catching.
I know what you’re going to say the moment you see this post. “Alright Carter, enough with the Audi Coupe GTs already!” you’re furiously typing, “We want more quattros!” The Porsche 924 of the Audi lineup, the reality is that more low mileage, pristine Coupe GTs come to market than just about any other 1980s Audi. But in my mind, they’re far from the least desirable in the line up, as they offered a stylish package with a high fun-to-drive quotient coupled with some serious longevity. And they’ve really begun to appreciate over the past few years; prime examples are now at least asking close to $10,000, a seemingly staggering amount considering you could get a very nice one a few years ago for no more than $3,000. But as with all of the mid-range and cheapish 1980s cars, the pool of excellent candidates is quite small and few come to the market quite as good as this 1986 example, primed for Christmas in a Tornado Red suit:
The year was 1987 and my father was entering his mid-life crisis, so of course, it was time for a new car. We headed to the Volkswagen showroom. As a young kid, I was enamored by the Vanagon Westfalia camper on the floor, along with the sleep Scirocco 16V. But we were there for something a bit more sensible and for a car that even some VW enthusiasts might forget: the Golf GT. This model was short lived and was essentially a “GTI light,” with the basic 1.8 liter engine coupled to a Golf with 14″ alloys, unique exterior and interior trim and an automatic gearbox, which was yet to be offered on the GTI. You could also spec a GT as a five-door, which wasn’t an option for US GTI customers. This 1987 GT 5-door for sale in Minnesota brings back a lot of memories for me, as it is in the same hue of Tornado Red as my father’s 1987 GT 3-door.
