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Tag: GTi

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1983 Volkswagen GTI Kamei X1

Volkswagen’s GTI is legendary on its own as a performance icon. It’s also got a deserved reputation as one of the most tunable cars out there; from turbos to suspension and everything in between, it’s no surprise that the basic GTI is actually hard to find.

One of the more popular visual tuners in the 1980s was Kamei. The company provided everything from hood scoops to spoilers, and headlight conversions to fender flares. While they have a decidedly 80s feel, that vibe is currently very much in vogue. So when an original GTI comes along with the full spectrum of Kamei accessories, it’s one to take notice of:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Volkswagen GTI Kamei X1 on eBay

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1998 Volkswagen GTI VR6

‘It’s like déjà vu all over again!’

Only a week after looking at another example of my favorite GTI – the Montana Green 2.0 16V – we get another of my personal greatest GTI hits. Again, it’s one that’s pretty hard to come across at all, never mind in good shape. In this case it’s Ginster Yellow last-year Mk.3, and yet again after claiming it’s hard to find one, one popped up pretty recently:

1998 Volkswagen GTI VR6

Since I just covered what made the Mk.3 tick, I won’t do so again, but let’s dive a bit into this example. The last one, as it turned out, may have had some issues which prevented it from really being a top-tier example. Is it the same with this pristine and lightly modded one?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1998 Volkswagen GTI VR6 on eBay

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1988 Volkswagen GTI 16V

Update 7/21/19: This GTI 16V sold for $7,500.

Another GTI 16V?

Yes. And there are good reasons to look at this one!

A few years ago it seemed near impossible to find a clean, original 16V anymore. With prices of nice ones in the basement and most modded to death, it was a really rare treat to find a survivor. But they still weren’t really worth anything, so most nice examples remained tucked away, appreciated by their owners instead of the market. Today, though, the market has very much changed as 80s icons are enjoying celebrity star power once again and cars like today’s ’88 GTI attract as much attention as that new Porsche GTsomenumeral. Don’t believe me? Well, the lightly modded Montana Green Metallic example I just looked at hammered at $12,900 just the other day:

1992 Volkswagen GTI 16V

The ’87-89 model years are, to me, not quite as appealing as the later 9A GTIs. But in true hot-hatch form, they retained a strong link to the normal production models while offering sports car performance. Adding 8 more valves in ’87 to the GTI gave it about 20% more power, and that additional grunt was met with new wheels, trim, a deeper spoiler and a revised interior. ’88 saw the change to the “big door” and one-piece glass, along with a new 3-bar grill. We’ve recently seen two ultra-clean Tornado Red ’89s, so let’s take a look at this L90E Alpine White ’88:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Volkswagen GTI 16V on eBay

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1992 Volkswagen GTI 16V

Update 7/2/19 – this GTI 16V sold for $12,900.

Back in April, my favorite GTI popped up for sale – a 1992 9A 2.0 16V version in signature Montana Green Metallic. While not perfect, it certainly looked good enough to contemplate jumping in on:

1992 Volkswagen GTI 16V

But alas, before the auction ended it disappeared and we didn’t get to see what the final price would be. Fast forward two and change months and here we are again; a lightly modified GTI 16V in the color I love. With far less mileage on the clock and a lot of recent work, this one looks primed to score – and with the reserve off, bids are flying. How much will this iconic hot hatch fetch today?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1992 Volkswagen GTI 16V on eBay

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1998 Volkswagen GTI VR6

After its unceremonious and unexplained exit from the U.S. market with the introduction of the third generation Golf in 1993, the GTI came roaring back in a big way for the 1995 model year. Sure, it was bigger, bulkier and well…roundier, but it came with a bunch more gusto thanks to the addition of the VR6 motor as seen in the Corrado and Passat models. The single-overhead cam, twelve valve head lacked the race-bred feel of the Mk.II 16V, the new motor more than made up for it with the addition of two more cylinders. Good for 172 horsepower and 173 lb.ft of torque, it swept the hot hatch from 0-60 in 7.1 seconds and produced a 15.5 second quarter mile at over 90 mph. But much like the original, the GTI was more than the sum of its numbers, with drivers enjoying the great 6-cylinder soundtrack which accompanied the waves of usable torque.

Of course, like all VWs from the period, it was expensive. Really quite expensive. A base GTI VR6 rolled out the door in 1995 at $18,875, and with a few options it wasn’t difficult to breech $20 grand. Yet that was still only a little more than half the money it would take you to grab a same-year M3, which offered only a bit more motivation and cornering prowess. Catch the pesky BMW driver off-guard, and they’d be unlikely to easily out-drag you. So you could either look at this model as a really expensive Golf or a really cheap BMW. That was what the legendary GTI had always been about, and this was a resounding return to form and continuation of the brilliance that was the GTI 16V, even if they felt (and, looked) completely different:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1998 Volkswagen GTI VR6 on eBay

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