Just a little late for Halloween, today’s examination of my new favorite eBay seller’s offerings is quite the pumpkin. Another low-mileage DoKa Syncro, this one also has a factory 1.6-liter turbodiesel churning out a whopping 70hp, 16 more than the naturally-aspirated 1.7-liter diesel. When you’re counting horsepower by the dozens as opposed to the hundreds, 16hp can make quite a difference! With just 37k miles, it should still be making close to that amount. The oil-burner is a nice addition to the real meat of this T3 that makes it exceptional: the 4WD and truck bed. No matter how many this New Jersey outfit imports, DoKa Syncros are going to remain extremely rare in the US. The color and condition are both outstanding, and the impeccable black undercarriage completes the Halloween (or SF Giants?) theme. As usual with this seller, there is no reserve, so have at it, people! You too could have the near-twin of Grandpa’s Adventure Truck.
Category: Volkswagen
There’s always been a fascination for me with the W8 Passat. Not only did Volkswagen take the B5 and B5.5 models upscale by offering the Audi-based chassis, but they pioneered the new engine configurations that would be the top-tier mills in the Passat. Truth told, the “W” configuration had been around for a few years before it finally entered into the mid-sized sedan and wagon. It was first floated in the Bugatti EB116 16/4, but really came into the minds of enthusiasts with the Volkswagen W12 Nardo concept. Now in appropriately named W12 configuration and powering all four wheels, the 600 horsepower mid-engined Volkswagen captured headlines with its 200 m.p.h. 24 hour run and Italdesign-penned Group C for the road looks. While the Nardo was the prototype for what would become the Veyron after some heavy revisions, the W12 would be an exotic engine only powering the most elite of the VAG range. However, Volkswagen also launched a smaller version of the engine for 2001 in the Passat. It was the first introduction to U.S. customers of the W configuration that would later appear in Bentleys, the D3 Audi A8L and the Phaeton. There was something unique about the Passat’s package, though. First, you could option the mid-ranger in long-roof 5-door configuration. More importantly for enthusiasts, you could select a manual 6-speed, too. The combination of these items coupled with the stratospheric price tag of the model meant very few sold. But briefly, until the new S4 launched in 2004, this was the most powerful manual VAG product you could buy in the U.S.:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2008 Volkswagen Passat W8 4Motion Variant 6-speed on eBay
4 Comments
If there is one car that never really made sense to me in the Volkswagen lineup, it is the Jetta Coupe. There is a cult following for these two-door sedans and many times they command a premium over their 4-door counterparts. Why? That’s a fantastic question, though perhaps it is simply the rarity of the 2-door that elevates their status. The same phenomena can be seen in the Audi 80 (4000) 2-door, which was available in several different engine and drivetrain configurations early in the production run. However, in that case it’s specifically the 2-door 80 that was used as both a basis for the development of the Quattro and, perhaps more notably, the doors and windshield of the Sport Quattro. That link adds to the mystique of the 2-door 80. But the Jetta? I’m afraid I’ve just never understood why it’s more desirable. It’s a less convenient sedan without the styling of a real coupe or grand tourer and without the functionality of the 2-door hatchback Golf. Yet desirable they are, and when presented in low mileage condition with some nice dress up items on an already rare platform like the A1 chassis sedan, it’s quite desirable indeed:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Volkswagen Jetta Coupe on eBay
2 Comments
I’d love to be the buyer for this New Jersey outfit which is clearly wandering around Europe, finding great 25+ year-old Volkswagens that were previously forbidden fruit, and bringing them to the US to turn a profit. Thus far, it’s seemed like low-mileage all-originals were the examples of choice, but this DoKa takes it to the next level. The cowcatcher front spoiler could challenge Alpina or Zender, and full-body ground effects and black-center aftermarket wheels help it strike a completely different pose. Sure, it’s a diesel, just like many of the showcar VWs in this country are “2.slows,” but that doesn’t make it undesirable. The interior is painted in the same bright blue hue, and updated front seats and steering wheel follow the few-parts-big-effects style of the exterior.
Click for details: 1988 Volkswagen DoKa Diesel on eBay
2 Comments
To call the TireRack sponsored “One Lap of America” anything other than a grueling competition would be a disservice to the event. On par with some of the greatest endurance races in the world, the 7-day, 3,200 mile trek around the United States has an added twist – you have to drive your race car between stages. Now, that’s something that occurs in the World Rally Championship – but they cover far fewer miles and have pro teams, pit crews and major automotive manufacturers backing them up. To say that the One Lap is a amateur-only event would also be misleading, but it is far from a strictly professional series – and where else would you see a Honda Odyssey win at anything? Combining several different classes of cars, you get the spectrum from classic performance muscle cars through modern super GTs. The winner of class “SSGT2 SB” in 2014 was a Volkswagen GTi – one of a trio of cars prepared to dominate the event. When you consider that the cars that ranked above them were super GT royalty – Corvette ZR-1s, Viper SRT-10s, Boss 302s and a plethora of Nissan GT-Rs – the level of performance from the GTis is drawn into perspective. Now the builders are moving on, leaving these seriously potent track weapons available at a fraction of their build cost: