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Here’s a piece of automotive trivia for you the next time you get together with your petrolhead friends: what was the first front-wheel drive Volvo? Give up? It was this car, the 480. If you’re unfamiliar with this hatchback, you might be scratching your head at its existence. Every time I see one of these, I’m instantly reminded of the song from the children’s program Sesame Street: “which one of these things is not like the other….which one of these things just doesn’t belong?” So stark is the difference in the 480’s styling from the rest of Volvo’s lineup at the time, it can’t help but intrigue you.
We like to feature the odd Swedish car here at GCFSB, but the 480 was actually designed by Bertone and built in the Netherlands. The end result was a curious car for a manufacturer known for boxy styling and an emphasis on safety. Taking it’s rear hatch styling from the short lived P1800ES, the 480 was supposed to come to North America but was cancelled at the last minute. Introduced with a 1.7 liter inline-4, a turbocharged, 2.0 liter unit was introduced in 1988, which is what is under the hood of this 480 Turbo for sale in Regensburg, Germany.
When I spent some time in England and Germany, my friends there laughed when I stopped to gawk at a 5 door A2 GTi. My German friend kept telling me “it’s nothing special, it’s just the golf 4 door with GTi badges”. He was both right and wrong, because while the 5 door GTi shown here really is just mostly an appearance package it was a car that the U.S. never received and one that I really wanted. I’m not even completely sure why Volkswagen chose not to bring the more versatile 5 door to the U.S. until the Mk.5 platform, but like many of the European variants they have remained out of our reach since new. 1989 saw the beginning of the changeover from the smaller bumper A2 to the chunkier “big bumper” look with integrated fog lights. Today’s example looks nearly identical to the 2.0 16V GTi we received on these shores – with the exception of the number of openings!
Martini Racing stripes make the world a better place, no matter where they appear. However, today’s application is something really special to put your unique project over the top. Martini Racing licensed MOMO to make a run of both street and racing competition steering wheels. These wheels were rare and expensive when new, though obviously cherished by at least a few owners and can be found for sale today. This particular model is a racing variant which sported a smaller diameter and quick-release ready bolt circle. In just about perfect shape, it’s just awaiting it’s next race:
Year: N/A
Model: MOMO Martini Racing
Condition: Used
Price: $499 Buy It Now
Looking at that project Jetta GLi got me thinking about what wheels I’d love to see on there. In my quick search, I came across a set of wheels from a car that few seem to remember – the Renault Alliance GTA. Looking very similar to the A1 Jetta, the GTA was a two door sedan performance version of the regular Alliance, and wasn’t much of a performer but did look sharp thanks to some spectacular 15″ Ronal R8 alloys that were slightly modified in design specifically for the GTA. Differing from the normal Audi look, they had slight webbing in between the normal spokes. It’s not often you see either the car or the wheels anymore, but today there is a quite reasonably priced set on Ebay:
Year: 1987
Model: R8 (Alliance GTA)
Diameter: 15″
Width: 6″
Bolt Pattern: 4×100
Offset: ET 45
Condition: Used
Tires: Not Included
Price: $174.99 Buy It Now
This past weekend I wrote up a great looking 2002 Ti Touring Turbo-look, that unfortunately for most U.S. fans was a bit too far for most to contemplate. I loved the squat stance with fat tires over the Turbo flares, but where that car had taken the replica idea to towards the race track today’s replica follows the route of the original Turbo and is a bit more tame as a road car. Without a doubt the original featured one of the best graphics packages ever available from the factory, with reversed “obrut” to let the driver ahead know what was about to pass them. Take a look at this neat tribute: