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Not that long ago, if you were at a gathering of automobile enthusiasts and said you had a diesel race car, you would likely have been laughed out of the group. And if I’m completely honest, I probably would have been one of those laughing. The term “diesel” coupled with “performance” just were two words at opposite ends of the spectrum to me even as recently as the mid 1990s. I recall that I had a friend who was very excited about the then relatively new TDi Golf and Jetta, reciting from carefully memorized brochures the fuel economy figures in any given situation. But then, something strange happened. I grew up and got a job where I had to drive – a lot – and was footing my own gas bill. Suddenly, the concept of 50 m.p.g. and having something a little different than the typical performance cars made sense to me. I was contemplating all sorts of weird permutations, generally into the cars I owned. For example, I thought the concept of swapping a diesel motor into the V8 quattro chassis was an interesting one, or for that matter an Audi S6 – the look of performance, but the mileage and run-for-eternity longevity of a diesel motor. Then Volkswagen did us all a favor and started bringing over performance versions of their TDi cars, starting with the Jetta TDi Cup Edition. An effective homologation of their one-make race series, the TDi Cups were essentially a GLi with the TDi powerplant – and offer performance in corners to make things fun coupled to fuel economy that makes life more practical:
For 911 buyers who want extra power, but without going the route of forced induction, the 911 GT3 (and its sibling the GT3 RS) makes for a fantastic alternative. Always considered more track-focused than the 911 Turbo, the GT3, through a combination of added lightness and added power, attempts to extract every ounce of ability from the 911’s already excellent chassis without going for a full track-focused setup. Performance with civility. While the GT3 only first debuted in 1999 as part of the 996 lineup, Porsche has long offered variants of this sort and they are consistently excellent and as equally revered. The car we have featured here is a Guards Red 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 located in San Francisco, which delivers its 435 hp to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual transmission.
Ever since the release of the iconic Carrera RS in 1973, Porsche has periodically introduced production cars so as to fulfill homologation standards for road racing series in which they planned to race the 911. Not surprisingly, these cars are highly regarded and sought after. While the GT3 RS takes buyers a little closer to a RSR, the GT3 remains an excellent alternative for most drivers and possesses probably 95% of the GT3 RS’s performance for a bit less cost. For all but the most devoted racer or collector the GT3 probably even represents better overall value. The car featured here, a 2010 Porsche 911 GT3, comes from the 2nd generation of the 997 and features a 3.8 liter flat-six delivering 435 hp to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual transmission. Like many of these cars this one has seen very few miles.
2014 will reportedly introduce to the U.S. a car that many Volkswagen fans have been eagerly awaiting – the Golf “GTD” TDi. Basically a GTi with the turbo diesel in place of the 2.0T, the GTD looks great, drives wonderfully and gets some fantastic mileage. But go back a few years and we basically already had the prototype here; the short lived 2010 Jetta TDi Cup Edition. What you got for your hard earned bucks was a basically a Jetta GLi with it’s heart yanked out and replaced by the thrifty and torque-laden turbo diesel. But this wasn’t just a styling exercise for Volkswagen – they had actively engaged in racing the Jetta TDi in the “TDi Cup” to help promote the TDi brand, so this car has some racing heritage as well. Only 1,500 were produced in black, white, blue, or today’s Salsa Red:
Weird but true: I’ve always liked the Volkswagen Eos. From the first time I saw a new one in 2007, the Eos always grabs my…
