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I know, I know – another Audi B2 post. But hey, we hear about every single variant of 911 all the time too, and since I love the GTs I think they deserve to be showcased. There weren’t many special editions of the GT produced, but in 1986 Audi made an entire run of “Commemorative Design” cars. The 4000CS, 4000CS quattro, Coupe GT and 5000 models all got special upgrades and each were slightly different. The closest were the 4000 quattro and Coupe GT, which shared paint colors and interiors. The exteriors were either Graphite Metallic or Alpine White, but inside they shared the same lipstick red “Mouton” leather. While the quattro got the slightly uprated JT code 115 horsepower inline-5, the GT relied on the “KX” code motor with 110 ponies. The difference lay in the exhaust manifold; the GT unit was a 5-1 cast manifold, while the quattro had a beefier 5-3-1 exit, along with a larger diameter exhaust. However, the lighter GT was quicker than the all wheel drive variant; and thanks to the nature of the GT versus the quattro market, more of the special 1986 models have survived. The ’86 CE models also received the notorious digital dash, and if you selected Alpine White, they had color matched wheels, mirrors and rear spoiler. The color combination really makes the sharp Giugiaro lines stand out:
One of [whatever]. We hear it quite often here at GCFSB, but we’ve also come across some quite rare machinery in our years of being involved with this site. When I saw this Polaris Silver M1 for sale in Germany, I found it hard to believe that it was one of only three manufactured in this color. Silver is such a common color, especially on our favorite German vehicles. Sure enough, however, they didn’t produce many in this hue. With under 500 built, the M1 was one of the rarest BMWs produced. This car was just the beginning in what would be a long line of high performance machines to wear the Motorsports badge, which would wind up on the posterior of everything from roadsters to Tourings.
I’ve always been massively attracted to the original Scirocco. The Giugiaro design is late-70s simplistic beauty at its best, an aesthetic almost entirely lost these days (although pleasantly approximated by the new Lamborghini Huracan). This well-modified 1980 example keeps it simple with black-centered 3-piece BBS wheels and a minimal rear spoiler. Not a line out of place, and the excellence continues inside with beautiful plaid seat inserts. This is not all show, however, as the attention to greatness includes any VW fan’s laundry list of Mk1 improvements. Yes, I love GTIs, GLIs, and Rabbit Pickups, but Sciroccos like this are the Mk1s I lust after.
Which came first; the Mk.1 or the modified Mk.1? Of course it’s a rhetorical question, but it points to the popularity of the first water-cooled Volkswagens. Affordable, practical and plentiful, the aftermarket community thrived on providing all sorts of options to modify your Golf/Rabbit to all sorts of levels. With everything from body kits to performance modifications and interiors, there was seemingly no end to the possible permutations of combinations of parts to make your mass-produced hot hatch a bit hotter and different from everyone else. But weed through the plethora of upstarts, and perhaps the most respected name in the Mk.1 community is Oettinger. Though somewhat out of vogue today, we should not forget that Oettinger pioneered the twin cam, 16 valve engine for Volkswagen – in production as early as 1980, a full 7 model years before Volkswagen’s own 16V would enter service. They competed in motorsport as well, developing rally engines and everything from turbocharged diesels to a full 2 liter 16V motor developing 170 horsepower in 1984; Oettinger-equipped Golfs were quick enough to accelerate on par with production Porsche 928s of the period. Today, their legendary status in the Mk.1 community means that fully built, period models demand a premium even if they’re rare to come by:
If you haven’t watched the Petrolicious segment highlighting Road & Track Senior Editor Jason Cammisa’s Volkswagen Scirocco, it’s worth a watch. In this short clip, he discusses how after driving some of the most high-dollar, powerful vehicles on the market currently, he years to step back into his Scirocco for pure driving pleasure. One point Cammisa touched on was the issue of steering feel in the Scirocco and how that kind of experience is lacking in new cars. I couldn’t have agreed more. Thankfully, we can always look back to the modern classics, such as this 1987 Scirocco GTX 16V for sale in The Netherlands. With just under 30,000 miles on the clock, it’s tempting to consider importing this VW and turning back time.
