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Category: Volkswagen

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1987 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V

The arrival of the second-generation Scirocco in 1982 was, to be honest, not much of a revelation. It’s not as though I don’t appreciate the design, though how it came about is somewhat suspect. Volkswagen canned Giugiaro as the replacement designer for the exceptionally beautiful and unique first-generation car, moving in-house to Karmann for the second go at the Golf-based sport coupe. The result looked rather suspiciously like Giugiaro’s Italdesign Asso di Fiori from 1979 and Asso di Quadri from 1976, though – the car that became the Isuzu Impulse. Two years later, and Viola! the Scirocco II debuts from Karmann with a near-identical shape. On top of that, the mechanicals continued to be based upon the first generation Golf.

It wasn’t until 1986 that VW coupe fans finally got to rejoice as the addition of the PL 1.8 liter dual-cam inline-4 finally joined the lineup. Based on Oettinger’s head design and now with 123 high-revving horsepower, the Scirocco went a bit more like the wind it was named after. The wide-ratio, economy-minded gearbox of yore was gone too, replaced by a close-ratio gearbox. Like the GTI and GLI, 14″ ‘Teardrop’ wheels and a new bodykit heightened the boy-racer appearance, and the 16V models got all matchy-matchy before the Golf and Jetta, too, with body-colored painted bumpers.

Today they’re hard to find in good condition at all. This Tornado Red example spotted by one of our readers sure is great, though!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V on eBay

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1985 Volkswagen Golf with 29,600 Miles

The ’85 and ’86 model-year Volkswagen Golfs were a bit unique, since the base and diesel models were manufactured in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania. There were minor trim differences, but the easiest way to spot them was the Rabbit-inspired sealed-beam headlights and unique grille. Unlike today’s market, where the Golf has gone upscale, the launch of the A2 chassis for the US market saw the diesel Golf as the cheapest way to buy a VW – and the gas unit was only a hair more money. But they were fairly basic transportation; the 1.8 liter inline-4 GX motor was rated at 85 horsepower for adequate acceleration and fuel mileage. Interiors were basic tweed in a few colors, you had to option in things like a radio and power anything (including steering!), and they came with 13″ steel wheels. If you wanted more upscale, you either spent another $1,000 and bought a Jetta, or in 1986 Volkswagen added the Wolfsburg package to make you feel a bit more special.

Today’s car is a fairly basic first-year US Golf that was ordered with an automatic gearbox and air conditioning. But the big story here is the low mileage, with under 30k since new. This isn’t an everyday occurrence, since these cars were workhorses from new and not collector cars. And it sounded familiar to me, so after some looking sure enough – I checked it out a little over four years ago.

1985 Volkswagen Golf with 29,000 Miles

With only a few more miles on the clock since that time, but with the market for 80s classics having reached a new level, what does 2018’s $10k asking price look like today?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Volkswagen Golf on eBay

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2004 Volkswagen R32 HPA Twin Turbo with 5,400 Miles

Back in May I took a look at what certainly must be the most valuable 2000s Volkswagen in the marketplace today – the R32:

2004 Volkswagen R32

Like 911SCs, the prices on these continue to boggle the mind for me. Neat cars, certainly. Worth what a new GTI costs for a worn example? That’s a hard sell, at least for me. Yet plenty are selling in the $20k-$30k range, and some have even hit double that amount if they have low mileage. That’s what we have today – this R32 has just 5,400 miles. That puts it in line to hit the high-end of the market, and you can guess where it is priced as a result. However, it also has a lot of mods – does that have an impact on value?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 Volkswagen R32 on eBay

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2001 Volkswagen GTI GLS 1.8T

When it came to the Mk.4, as they had in the prior generations Volkswagen offered you two flavors of GTI. In 2001, this was represented as the GLS and the GLX. The GLX had the throaty 2.8L VR6, while the GLS made due with the 1.8T. It was still a punchy package, though; with 150 horsepower and 155 lb-ft of torque. While that was down on grunt to the VR6, you could easily chip the 1.8T and make up the deficit. That’s what a lot did, and consequently it’s pretty hard to find a car like today’s example – here we have a stock Mojave Beige Metallic GTI GLS that has under 60,000 miles. If you want one, it’s definitely one of the best out there:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 Volkswagen GTI GLS 1.8T on eBay

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2021 Volkswagen Arteon SEL Premium R-Line

It isn’t too often that we get to introduce a totally new car on these pages, but welcome to our first Arteon. The Arteon is the follow-up to the unusually successful Passat CC; essentially, a Passat that Volkswagen attempted to make look like a cross between a Chrysler LHS and a Mercedes-Benz CLS. They were always a bit oddly proportioned in my eyes, though they had some pretty exciting features – you could, for example, get an all-wheel-drive one hooked to the VR6. Still, the design was dated by the end of the twentyteens, and in 2019 they apparently sold just 59 CCs in the US.

The replacement arrived just in time for COVID, but it was a lot more appealing. The Arteon ditched the trunk and went for a budget-Audi A7 look, with a hatch, fresh styling, and a decidedly upscale interior. Unfortunately, that also meant an upscale pricetag. The Arteon starts today at just over $40,000 – which doesn’t sound horrible until you see the broadly similar Passat retailing in the low 20s – or it did, at least, until the Passat died an untimely death in the US market this year, which leaves us with just the Arteon.

It’s available in three configurations, ranging from the front-drive SE R-Line to what we see here – the range-topping SEL Premium R-Line, which is all-wheel drive and with a spec sheet rivaling the best cars out there. Run to a dealer and you’re looking at $50,000 for one. But if you accept a few miles, you can knock a bunch off that price:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: Link to 2021 Volkswagen Arteon SEL Premium R-Line on eBay

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