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Tag: GTi

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2003 Volkswagen Lupo GTI

2003 Volkswagen Lupo GTI

Published April 13, 2016 by Paul

After taking a peek yesterday at that miserly Volkswagen Lupo 3L, the thought crossed my mind as to what other interesting models might have existed in the Lupo range. I had a vague recollection there was a GTI version, but I couldn’t remember if it were a concept or indeed a series production car. Sure enough, Volkswagen put a Lupo GTI into production during a time when the original GTI, the Golf, became bloated and started losing its edge. This Lupo GTI was much more in the spirit of the Mk1 Golf GTI, taking a small hatchback and wedging a large four cylinder under the hood, this time in the form of a 1.6 liter lump producing 123 horsepower. This was enough to launch the Lupo GTI from 0-60 mph in under 8 seconds.

For those fortunate enough to live outside of the US and Canadian marketplaces, you can buy a Polo GTI nowadays. However, that Polo is a bit larger than the Lupo GTI, echoing the footprint more along the lines of a Mk2 Golf. I’m still waiting for VW to announce an Up! GTI, but until then, check out this low mileage Lupo GTI for sale near Frankfurt, Germany.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2003 Volkswagen Lupo GTI on Mobile.de

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1995 Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V

1995 Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V

Published April 1, 2016 by Paul

Whatever the reason might be, Volkswagen enthusiasts never seemed to hold the third generation GTI in as high regard as some other iterations of this hot hatchback. While the Mk2 GTI 16V seemed to hit the nail on the head in terms of what boy racers desired, the Mk3 fell just a bit short of that mark, in four-cylinder form. No one was complaining about the superb new VR6 engine available, however, US customers were left with a modest 2.0 liter 8V four-cylinder that produced only 115 horsepower. It was a torquey unit, but performance at the top end was less than stellar. Regardless, I enjoyed my time with my final year 1998 GTI 2.0. I miss that car to this day, even if my 2006 MINI Cooper S blows the doors off it performance wise. Like the Audi A8L 6.0 W12 we saw yesterday, this 1995 GTI 16V was a model not offered in the US. Looking great with just over 100,000 miles on the clock, you don’t see Mk3s this nice hanging about anymore.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V at PCH Automotive

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Motorsports Monday: 2007 Volkswagen GTi

Motorsports Monday: 2007 Volkswagen GTi

Published March 28, 2016 by Carter

There are some (quite a large number, in fact) who claim you can’t have fun on a race track in a front wheel drive car. I know quite a few of them. And in the wrong front driver, they’re likely right. Take a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado with its 8.2 liter V8 channeled through one front tire at any time and enough body roll to mimic a rowboat during Katrina and the recipe might be humorous, but doubtfully fun. However, 1976 also saw the introduction of a revolution in front drive platforms – the very first Golf GTi. Consider, for a moment, that GM’s replacement in 1977 for the thirsty 8.2 V8 was a every-so-slightly less thirsty 7.0 liter V8 (it was, after all, fuel crisis time….). That cast iron monster produced a heady 180 horsepower. Volkswagen engineers took a inline-4 with only 1.6 liters and twisted 110 horsepower out of it in a car that weighed about the same as the motor in the Cadillac. That was the magic of the GTi and it’s why it started the trend of hot front wheel drive cars that still is running arguably stronger than ever today. With clever transmissions, electronics and differentials, perceived weaknesses in the design have been nearly eliminated and most of the really trick nose FWD cars are as quick – if not quicker in some cases – than their rear-drive counterparts around a track. Therefore racing FWD cars is still a popular past time as today’s quite successful GTi is a testament to:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2007 Volkswagen GTi on Racer Connect

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Feature Listing: 1998 Volkswagen GTi VR6 Turbo

Feature Listing: 1998 Volkswagen GTi VR6 Turbo

Published March 11, 2016 by Carter

When I was getting into the “Volkswagen Scene”, it was a game of brinkmanship. And by Volkswagen scene I mean my smallish group of friends who owned Volkswagens and all congregated at the local European fixing spot, and by brinkmanship I mean whatever we could afford at the time for modifications. I outfitted my “GolfTi” with a GLi interior and GLi-spec BBS RAs, my friend with his GTi got a Techtonics Exhaust and coilover suspension. One traded a Jetta Carat for a 8V 91 GTi in Tornado Red. Another (after more or less wrecking the mint 2.0 16V GLi he was given!) bought a G60 supercharged swap first generation Scirocco. That move gave this particular individual the trump card in the group, even if that G60 never ran right. The point is, we were all small potatoes, and that was made pretty clear to me when I ran into someone with an actual budget.

That person had a then brand new 1996 GTi VR6. An A2 chassis fan, I derided the A3 as fat and too luxurious. But how quick the VR6 could be was made pretty evident to me one day as I hounded the rear bumper of his GTi down a country road. Finally, he succumbed to my goading and lay hard into third gear. At the end of a quarter mile straight, it was enough to pull probably 10 car lengths on my clapped out Golf, but it might as well have been a mile – I was utterly defeated and my opinion of the VR6 changed in 15 seconds time. Since then, A3 GTi VR6s have always held a certain fascination for me and my time owning a ’98 Golf K2 left me tempted to consider a late VR6 as a daily driver. But what if you had one and your group of friends also tried the same game of brinkmanship, but had better resources?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1998 Volkswagen GTi VR6 Turbo on eBay

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1984 Volkswagen GTI

1984 Volkswagen GTI

Published March 6, 2016 by Nate

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When I first saw this GTI, I thought “that’s a beautiful Mk1 GTI,” immediately followed by “they want $15k with 216,000 miles?!” which is the exact response the seller is discouraging in his ad, as I later found out. What I also found out as I read further and drooled over the pictures was that this GTI has just about everything new on it. Seriously, it’s like new under there with a rebuild with a fresh bottom end, all suspension, rebuilt brakes, and an interior redone in new-old-stock GTI red cloth. It’s pretty much perfect, and the mudflaps put me over the damn edge (I put some on my E28 M5 this winter and am now obsessed). This is the best non-original, like-new GTI out there.

Click for details: 1984 Volkswagen GTI on eBay

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