Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
Kit cars don’t get much love on these pages. Well, to be fair, they don’t get much love, period. But kits cars do offer something; exotic(ish) looks on a pedestrian budget. And strangely enough, some kit car and limited-manufacture cars have begun to be considered collectable in their own right.
You might not have heard of the Aquila before, and that wouldn’t be a huge surprise – there are just a claimed 137 total that were built in the late 1970s. Like many kit cars, they are based on a pretty standard Volkswagen Beetle platform, but the styling borrowed heavily from Paul Bracq’s BMW Turbo concept – though many assume it was supposed to be the M1. These are far more rare that the M1, though. Does that make it more desirable? Well…no, not really. But it’s still pretty neat to find one! Let’s take a look:
Seems like I’ve been on the hunt for “perfection” over the past few listings, and a lot of it comes down to the package and colors. That’s no different today. This 2018 GTI is an “S” model 4-door. All three trim lines in the ’18 GTI had the same powertrain; the 2.0T inline-four rated at 220 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. Jumping up to the SE got you a sunroof and some driver-assistance features, while the Autobahn got you more tech as well. But the base spec was a nice trim, even if you lost the sunroof. And one other reason that it was nice was the interior; the Tartan inserts and cloth seats have always been my favorite on these, and they’re not an option as you moved up to the leather-clad top models. As a bonus, this one is also my favorite color of the time – Great Falls Green – and is a manual. With moderate mileage and a few mods, is it a hit or miss?
The Polo isn’t a model often featured on these pages because 1) they never came to the United States and B) if you’re going through the effort of importing a European car, let’s just say the Polo probably isn’t top of your list. In 1981, the second generation debuted on the A02 platform – a standalone for the model and its betrunkened twin, the Derby (also not sold here). These super-minis were intended to be cheap and efficient; very basic equipment was met with very basic engines. The SP was marketed as the “sportier” Polo with slightly better equipment and a cool color pallet, though you’d be hard-pressed to call it either fast or luxurious. Still, it’s neat to see one here and worth a look:
The Mk.3 Volkswagen offered an amazing assortment of special models. I’ve previously covered the Golf Ryder, the Harlequin, the Trek, and the 20th Anniversary GTI. I owned a Golf K2, and there was also the Wolfsburg Edition and the Driver’s Edition GTi here, among a few others. But that was just the tip of the iceberg compared to what was offered abroad. There were nearly 30 different specials offered there, and today’s example was one that was built to celebrate the European tours of various rock band – in this case, Bon Jovi. A strange pairing? Yep. What you got was similar to the 4-cylinder US GTi: dual-chamber headlights, tinted tail lights, sport seats, and Orlando 14″ alloy wheels as well as a few neat interior trim items. That doesn’t sound too special, but today’s car also has just 10,500 miles. Wow!
VW’s radical redesign on the B3 resulted in a unique, angular look at still stands apart from the crowd today. And because the internals were based on VW’s A2 chassis like the Corrado, when the 2.8 VR6 debuted in the sporty coupe for ’92 it was only a matter of time until its four-door friend got it too. That happened in ’93 with the release of the GLX VR6. Slow sales resulted in Volkswagen’s refresh of the B4 Passat into the more traditional looking B4 for 1995; which saw new BBS wheels and body styling but the same dynamic performance. Today this clean and period-correct Emerald Green Pearl Metallic ’95 also reminds us of a time when most of the top-tier sedan offerings in the US could be ordered as a five-door wagon:
