Volkswagen Corrado-off: 1991 G60 v. 1992 VR6

This past week, I wrote up a heavily modded Corrado VR6 that pretty much universally was disliked. As Corrados go, I don’t even feel that car was too extreme, but in the highly individualized world of modified Volkswagens I also get that not everyone like what others have done. That’s why, for the most part, most enthusiasts would like to start with a clean slate; an original example of what drew them to the car in the first place. Today I found two better examples of original (or, mostly original anyway) Corrados, one each in G60 or VR6 form. What’s your flavor? Let’s take a look at the G60 first:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Volkswagen Corrado G60 on Honolulu Craigslist

Year: 1991
Model: Corrado G60
Engine: 1.8 liter supercharged inline-4
Transmission: 4-speed automatic
Mileage: 64,000 mi
Price: $4,000

New timing belt and waterpump
New Serpentine and accessory belt
Upgraded Fuel pressure regulator from BBM(OEM part)
Samco hoses
Catless/test pipe, and cat back supersprint exhaust(sounds better than stock, but not much louder)
HR springs with Bilstein sport struts/shocks
New control arm bushings
Euro headlight setup
New rear brakes(pads, rotors, bearings)
New drivers side window regulator
Paint done last year(rear emblem smoothed, lower trim smoothed)
Sideskirts were taken off(aftermarket) but will be included.

$4000/OBO ASAP

Now here’s the catch. It needs a starter exciter wire, which goes from the ignition switch to the ecu then to the starter solenoid. This also drains the battery very quickly. so it doesn’t start on it’s own. It will need to be towed, but once that is fixed, the car will be great. Must sell asap. Serious offers as car is a gem. Sorry the pics are crap, been raining so much had to take them with my phone. Car will be washed and polished before sale. Also have some extra parts if wanted, that can go with the car. Please don’t let the wire scare you, this is a great find for a Corrado, but just remember if you come look at it, it won’t start.

Mahalo

When it was launched, the G60 was heralded as a great looking, great driving car that was consistently outpaced by its competition. The performance wasn’t very good, especially since the boosted 160 horses were carting around more weight than the less powerful but better geared 16v GTis, which felt decidedly faster and sportier. It was a bit of a letdown for enthusiasts, and coupled with some reliability issues with the G-lader supercharger the early examples have mostly gone the way of the dodo. Still, it’s nice to see one in good condition, which this certainly is. The paint is clean, it’s got some minor modifications like the exhaust and suspension that don’t detract from the car’s originality, and the price is reasonable especially considering the low miles. The problem? Well, if being in Hawaii isn’t enough, it’s an automatic. I’m sure an enterprising individual could fix that problem with a manual swap, but by the time you get it here and do that, you could be in a clean VR6 for less money:

The VR6 brought in an era of bigger engines in smaller cars for Volkswagen and it was welcome. The VR6 didn’t have the rev-happy buzziness of the 2.0 16V, but it made up for that in raw power and torque. In the Corrado, that meant just shy of 180 horsepower; an amount that sounds unimpressive today but it was on par with the outgoing M3 in power-to-weight ratio. That made the VR6 a performance “bargain”; I say bargain because while it was cheaper than some other performance German iron, it was really quite expensive at the time and has always remained so relative to other VWs. This example is one of the first run, that like the last car has undergone some minor modifications:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1992 Volkswagen Corrado VR6 on New Jersey Craigslist

Year: 1992
Model: Corrado VR6
Engine: 2.8 liter VR6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 138,000 mi
Price: $5,500

1992 Corrado SLC VR6 138k
5spd
tan leather interior
simple & clean
everything works
K&N cone filter
straight pipe from cat-back (sounds mean but not too loud)
adjustable coilovers (recently replaced the fronts)
mp3/usb head unit
handmade custom enclosure w/new kicker amp&sub
comes with the rare oem hoodbra
Rim that come with the car are buggatti wheels (silver 7spoke)

what I’v replaced recently:
-new belt tentioner & pulley
-air hoses
-new tires
-heater core
-rad/heater core hoses
-timing chain
-belts
-oil&air filter every 2k
-oil pump
-thermostat
-battery
-key cylinders
-water pump
-other misc. parts
have reciepts for most the work

the bad:
-clear coat peeling on the rear bumper deck
-paint fading on lip of wing
-passanger side door handle damaged (attempted theft)

$5,500 OBO
call or text 862 – 215 – seven two four seven

Personally, I’d kick the “kicker” and try to revert this coupe to mostly original form. I like the Speedline wheels that originally came on these cars more than the “Bugatti” BBS-design wheels that belong on the Jetta GLX VR6, but that could be overcome. Otherwise, this looks like a fairly clean, recently maintained and correctable Corrado VR6. It would also be my choice, even though it has over double the miles of the G60. Location, location, location; plus, that automatic detracts from what otherwise is a pretty good looking example. Which would you prefer?

-Carter