RE: Spotted: VW Lupo GTI

[mooseracer]

RacingBlue said:

I rest my case

Sad to see so many like this

[nbetts]

AndyWoodall said:

nbetts said:

MattyB_ said:

Climatronic was never an option (neither were the Polo GTi alloys!) - I think that was a very (very) rare special order?

It was a unique car as far as I know.

I met the former owner of that car once (Rob?) and we had a long and very geeky discussion about how the car came like that as Climate and Polo GTI wheels were never an option. If I remember correctly he didn't have it from new and he didn't have the original sales invoice.

Best he could come up with was that it was somehow sourced from another RHD country.

I sold it to a young guy called Rob - I bought the car from VW and it was a factory order like that. Wish I still had it now. Was unique.

[MattyB_]

Kitchski said:

I'm not sure what the normal values are. Truth be told I always forget these were ever made

But £4.5k?? I'm just thinking of what else you could buy for that money. Clio 172 and £3k change I think!

Good, late, low-mileage examples still fetch upto £8k.
Early, 100k+ tatty ones can be as low as 2k.

As for price - it's whatever people are paying for them? Like anything that has a 'following' - 964RS, Lotus Elans, Mk1 Golfs, whatever - they'll always fetch more money that supposedly "better" cars because they're rare/popular/fashionable (delete as appropriate).

[Kitchski]

MattyB_ said:

Kitchski said:

I'm not sure what the normal values are. Truth be told I always forget these were ever made

But £4.5k?? I'm just thinking of what else you could buy for that money. Clio 172 and £3k change I think!

Good, late, low-mileage examples still fetch upto £8k.
Early, 100k+ tatty ones can be as low as 2k.

As for price - it's whatever people are paying for them? Like anything that has a 'following' - 964RS, Lotus Elans, Mk1 Golfs, whatever - they'll always fetch more money that supposedly "better" cars because they're rare/popular/fashionable (delete as appropriate).

Yeah I guess. I didn't realise they had a 'following'

[Tannoy]

Here's mine had it for 5 years now
Fantastic little car

[rallycross]

Must admit did not understand why prices have held so strong on these but then I bought a couple of them and they are great fun little things 5 or 6 speed version equally good fun .

Shame no one is making 120 bhp sub 1000 kg high revving mini hot hatches any more.
Vw UP would be the ideal base model for a new Lupo Gti but diesel loving nanny state rules = no powerfull small hatches like Lupo Gti, 106 Gti, Saxo Vts being produced today.

[loveice]

31mph said:

I used to be a member on 'clublupo' when I had an old Arosa, and there were some really nice examples of GTI's on there....

I was a member there when it was still called lupogti.co.uk. I remember how badly I wanted a 1.8T with a 5-speed (6-speed won't fit in a Lupo with the 1.8T).

[Hellbound]

Why people are waxing lyrical about climate control is beyond me.

Having said that I've spent many hours on E30zone in the past talking about rare specced BMW's so I'm no better. :P

[the-photographer]

rallycross said:

Must admit did not understand why prices have held so strong on these but then I bought a couple of them and they are great fun little things 5 or 6 speed version equally good fun .

Shame no one is making 120 bhp sub 1000 kg high revving mini hot hatches any more.
Vw UP would be the ideal base model for a new Lupo Gti but diesel loving nanny state rules = no powerfull small hatches like Lupo Gti, 106 Gti, Saxo Vts being produced today.

Up GT is coming 3-cylinder turbo with ~108PS

[ensignia]

Didn't these have some ridiculous bi-xenon lights that were meant to be the best in the business? And this was all those years ago, on a supermini!

[Andy ap]

Here's mine at oulton,

wish the engine was more powerful though, but a suprising amount of people actually came over and made good comments about it, one MK2 golf driver said it was quite quick....errr.

Edited by Andy ap on Friday 22 February 09:11

Edited by Andy ap on Friday 22 February 09:14

[stugolf]

ensignia said:

Didn't these have some ridiculous bi-xenon lights that were meant to be the best in the business? And this was all those years ago, on a supermini!

The headlights on the Gti were absolutely brilliant and still the best I've had (40+ cars)

[Hellbound]

Suzuki Swift Sport a more modern equivalent? That weighs in at a smidge over a tonne (1084kg?) and has 134bhp. It's bigger and comes with more kit too and arguably more fun to drive, if not quicker.

[rallycross]

Hellbound said:

Suzuki Swift Sport a more modern equivalent? That weighs in at a smidge over a tonne (1084kg?) and has 134bhp. It's bigger and comes with more kit too and arguably more fun to drive, if not quicker.

Swift good fun but feels nothing like as agile as the Lupo Gti is to drive.

[markrc]

AndyWoodall said:

My cars been a total work horse, I've been all over Europe in it, its done house moves (from France once), airport pick ups, taken me to job interviews, taken the cats to the vets, had a load of garden waste dumped in the back, transported all the material needed for our wedding, hen dos and done all the other things life throws at you. In short, its part of the family.

Its only let me down once in the nearly 9 years I've owned it.

Edited by AndyWoodall on Thursday 21st February 13:01

Looks great - such good little cars.

[loveice]

Hellbound said:

Suzuki Swift Sport a more modern equivalent? That weighs in at a smidge over a tonne (1084kg?) and has 134bhp. It's bigger and comes with more kit too and arguably more fun to drive, if not quicker.

The point of Lupo GTI is not about how quick it is. There are plenty of cars bigger and faster. The GTI is on the other hand a special model, so much different from a well speced standard model. You really have to see it and drive it to undersand it.

[Hellbound]

loveice said:

The point of Lupo GTI is not about how quick it is. There are plenty of cars bigger and faster. The GTI is on the other hand a special model, so much different from a well speced standard model. You really have to see it and drive it to undersand it.

I was making that point, in that the Swift is slower on paper. I also think you're overly romanticizing the Lupo GTI, as many seem to be doing.

In a few years people will think they were all hand built on a top secret production line and special widgets from the Pheaton were fitted along with gromits from the Mars Rover. That should shore up prices even further.

[AndyWoodall]

nbetts said:

I sold it to a young guy called Rob - I bought the car from VW and it was a factory order like that. Wish I still had it now. Was unique.

Ah I see. Interesting, I know its geeky, but I'm facinated how it even got ordered. It was never a listed option in the cars whole life. I like the wheels, always fancied getting some as a spare set for winter or some other flimsy excuse.

Hellbound said:

Why people are waxing lyrical about climate control is beyond me.

Having said that I've spent many hours on E30zone in the past talking about rare specced BMW's so I'm no better. :P

Its not that we are particularly thrilled with Climate itself (I would still have stuck with aircon), its more the fact that its a spec oddity with that and the Polo GTI wheels - which were an option in Europe - makes it worth of note to us Lupo GTI geeks.

BlueRSedFly said:

Yay Loopy Machines! AndyW, great to hear you still have yours, I remember seeing pics of it on ClubLupo on Borth beach I think not long after you got it! Brilliant to hear you still have it.
Sadly mine met an untimely end, those expensive body panels and Xenon lamps mean repair costs are high and mine was written off.
Such a great fun car, VW really went to town on it and it was great fun to drive and own. Mine was a 6sp in Moon Silver, prob. quite a rare combination as most 6sp were Reflex Silver I think.

Hi, I have those pics of yours saved on my pc in my big folder full of car pics. And yes, I took some pics at Borth when I first had it.

Never thought I'd keep it so long, it almost went in 2006 and 2010 for a Clio 197 and Boxster respectively, but I just can't part with it, even though I have this strong urge for a Boxster or a Cayman which I have to fufil.

I know there are better cars, but L8LMW is mine. Even if I sold it, I'd want it back. No one else is having it, its mine. End of. So as I refuse to turn it into a nice pot of money for a Cayman, I now I have to wait before I can have something new.

[Triumph Man]

Hellbound said:

Funny thing is if a manufacturer brought out a 'GTI' with only 125hp, albeit weighing in at around a tonne, PHers would ridicule it to high heaven!

Only the poseur ones. The ones who enjoy driving would love it. Kind of like the Toyota GT86, many people miss the point...

[AndyWoodall]

Hellbound said:

Suzuki Swift Sport a more modern equivalent? That weighs in at a smidge over a tonne (1084kg?) and has 134bhp. It's bigger and comes with more kit too and arguably more fun to drive, if not quicker.

The Swift Sport is a close match on the hot hatch evolution chart. Similar price, similar aim but without some of the special bits. I've not driven a sport but have been a passenger in the first generation and the Lupo wouldn't be able to keep up on a twisty road as from what I've been able to observe, the Sport is a better steer.

Although it doesn't have the limited production run appeal of the Lupo GTI (regardless of us romanticising or not), the Abarth 500 is the closest in feel to me of the current generation of hot hatches.