Obscure Performance Saloon Spin-offs e.g. Jetta 16v

[Triumph Man]

S10GTA said:

Whilst not performance, they did a C4 saloon

st loads of those in China. They love a saloon over there. Including loads of Citroen ZX saloon type things - the name of which I can't remember.

[itcaptainslow]

How about the super rare Rover 420 GSI Turbo? Same engine as the 220 Coupe turbo in a saloon body. Would love one to tuck away!

[Gary29]

GroundEffect said:

I would have thought 5 doors was LESS of a compromise...

Talking about hot hatches, from a performance point of view, 'in the old days' the homologation specials were pretty much all 3 door, as they didn't need 5 doors in a motorsport environment, and so 'performance' cars of this ilk for me were always 3 door, the compromise I mean is that manufacturers keep pushing 5 door cars now to appeal to a wider audience and ultimately achieve greater sales.

I don't think I'd ever buy a 5 door hot hatch, take the Seat Leon for example, I was in the market for a hot hatch when the Mk1 Cupra R was at it's peak of popularity, I wanted one badly, when I found out there wasn't a 3 door version, I bought a Megane 225 instead.

A bigger 4 door saloon would get my money if I was looking to cart a family around.

[carinaman]

I considered a cherished 146Ti last year. I bottled it while looking at the MoT history. I think ownership would've been tamagotchi like.

[carinaman]

I seem to remember a test in CAR Magazine where they said the Toledo V5 had the best sorted handling/ride of the Golf IV platform cars when they tested it against the 156TS. I like the 5 pot burble too. Not obscure, but not common and looks like any other Toledo.

Cordoba Cupra?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfrXQSPwy1o

Edited by carinaman on Thursday 7th April 13:52

[MDMA .]

Google [bot] said:

You could also argue the case for the Audi 80 Sport. Lovely car, Golf GTi motor but lower geared. Felt much quicker than an 8v GTi.

or the Golf GTI with the Audi 80 motor

[Leins]

Another one I nearly forgot, the CD Carlsson (foreground):



I miss Saab

[s m]

They did a very quick homologation special in South Africa - the Opel Kadett 200ts in 4-dr form

200bhp, 6-speed and a LSD

[MDMA .]

Vento VR6. try finding a nice one now -



and uber rare RS2 sedan. made for a few of high flying execs at the time -

[anonymous-user]

The original SEAT Leon is the car that everyone remembers particularly the Cupra/Cupra R models.

Whereas the Toledo 4-door predates the Leon (launched 1999, Leon 2000) and the Toledo got the same 1.8 20vT 180bhp engine as the Leon Cupra (later FR). This was a rare machine as the Toledo wasn't a big seller even with a Diesel engine but whereas everyone would go for the smooth 2.3 V5 170bhp the performance was with the 1.8 20vT in its day - it wasn't even badged as a Cupra just a Sport IIRC.

[Leins]

s m said:

They did a very quick homologation special in South Africa - the Opel Kadett 200ts in 4-dr form

200bhp, 6-speed and a LSD

Another new one on me - that must have been a riot to drive!


Although South Africa really is the land of the obscure performance saloon:

[carinaman]

Did some markets get a Tempra Sedicivalvole?

https://www.facebook.com/T%C4%B0PO-Tempra-20-16V-s...

[Vitorio]

MDMA . said:

Vento VR6. try finding a nice one now -

The Bora V5 (150/170HP) and V6 4motion are also proper obscure performance saloons...

As much as a i hate boring golf based VWs, i always kind of liked the Bora, having one with a 2.8 litre VR6 would be nuts, imagine the potential embarrassment you could inflict on unsuspecting victims at the traffic lights, get a VR6 bora, dont wash it, debadge it and have fun

[vikingaero]

This thread was made for me. I owned a 4 door 900 Turbo, a 4 door Jetta GTi 16v and a 4 door Civic VTi.

What stood out?

Saab - it didn't handle terribly well but in gear acceleration in 3rd was brilliant. It turned most overtaking situations from a maybe to a definitely.

Jetta - The clutch was heavy in traffic and the boot was the USP - massive for that sized car of the time.

Civic - an absence of torque so you had to be in the right gear at the right time. Probably my favourite car of the lot. I modified it sensibly - full Dynamat, Nakamichi speakers and sensible sized woofers and amps that didn't take up much room. Tiny extra PIAA driving lamps in the bumper that I bought from a car accessory shop in Hong Kong - remember this was 1992 so far less stuff available. The car did 2 back to back track days at Cadwell and Donington and needed 4x discs, pads and fluid the following day! Also the car I used for advanced driver training, despite having a 968 Sport, because it was to be my everyday car. Found out in it at Tockwith that ABS still works when travelling out of control backwards! And had to mention to Paul Ripley that I was paying for tuition when he hogged the car and it's addictive VTec engine through the course he had created. He couldn't believe how it switched corners through his coned out S-bend.

[graham22]

Going back to the op, we also got the next generation Civic as a 4 door 1.6VTI - guess it didn't sell well with the Rover based 1.8VTI being very similar, plus there being a softer 2 door coupe too.

Do remember both the 1.6 VTI saloons have just 2 bucket type seats in the rear, whereas the hatch & coupe had 3:

[M1C]

Triumph Man said:

Wasn't the 200 bhp one the TFSI? And did these have GTi suspension setups as well or was it a case of powerful engine, standard Jetta set up?

Edited by Triumph Man on Thursday 7th April 13:34

Edited by Triumph Man on Thursday 7th April 13:47

Yes, sorry, i mean TFSI.

I think they used standard Jetta suspension, or at least standard 'Sport' Jetta suspension.

I really should know more about this as i actually worked for a VW at the time there were around...they were like hens teeth.

[vikingaero]

graham22 said:

Do remember both the 1.6 VTI saloons have just 2 bucket type seats in the rear, whereas the hatch & coupe had 3:

Normally the smallest passenger would be perched on the rear armrest if you had to carry more than 3 passengers. But the individual rear seats were supremely comfortable if you happened to be a passenger.

[mp3manager]

Pre VTEC days - the Concerto 1.6i-16v, my one from a long, long time ago.

[Riley Blue]

MDMA . said:

Vento VR6. try finding a nice one now -

Didn't the Vento VR6 have its own race series in the UK rather than the much more popular Golf VR6?

[SuperchargedVR6]

Vitorio said:

MDMA . said:

Vento VR6. try finding a nice one now -

The Bora V5 (150/170HP) and V6 4motion are also proper obscure performance saloons...

As much as a i hate boring golf based VWs, i always kind of liked the Bora, having one with a 2.8 litre VR6 would be nuts, imagine the potential embarrassment you could inflict on unsuspecting victims at the traffic lights, get a VR6 bora, dont wash it, debadge it and have fun

You won't embarrass much with a 2.8 VR6 these days, except yourself perhaps I had a lot of love for the VR6 motor (so long as it had a turbo bolted to it) but the last VAG diesel I drove (A 170hp I think) would murder a VR6 at any speed.