SOTW: VW Corrado VR6
This week Shed picks out a cult classic rather than a bestseller
Today's SOTW is an unashamedly biased one. I've picked out this admittedly rather tired-looking Corrado VR6 not because it's so rare to see a roadworthy example within the strict bounds of Shed's £1k limit (although it is unusual, despite Corrado VR6 values having softened up somewhat recently), but because I have a very personal soft-spot for them.
You see, back in 1995 (before I was able to legally drive, but long after I'd started avidly devouring any car magazines I could get my grubby little mitts on), I persuaded my father, precocious youth that I was, to pick a Corrado VR6 as a company car.
This was largely because the UK's motoring journalists almost universally wet themselves over the VR6 Corrado, often declaring it to be among the best-handling front-wheel-drive cars ever and awarding it victory in any number of group tests - even against rear-drive opposition.
As an impressionable child, I felt it was my duty to make sure one arrived on our family's drive. So when M610 VMU turned up one May evening in 1995, I was pretty much over the moon. And the chunky black coupe did not disappoint.
I loved the body-hugging seats, the great curved wall of dash and the growly V6, while the Karmann badge (for it was the Osnabruck coachbuilder who manufactured the car for VW) stuck just in front of the gearlever made it seem that little bit more exotic. And of course my 12-year-old self thought the spoiler that rose automatically at, if I recall correctly, around 60mph was just bloody brilliant...
The Corrado was also a significantly more exciting proposition than the rather more soggy and mundane Golf VR6. Aside from far better handling, the Corrado got a 2.9-litre narrow-angle V6 with 192bhp, rather than the miserable 174bhp 2.8 the Golf had to put up with. The result was 0-60mph in 6.4secs and a top speed of 145mph - more than enough for mid-90s playground bragging rights.
But for some reason, perhaps because VW hardly had a strong reputation for producing premium sports coupes, perhaps because the chunky styling wasn't exactly en vogue, the buying public never really took to the Corrado; VW sold fewer than 100,000 of them worldwide during the car's seven-year life.
As a result, the Corrado has been pretty much erased from VW's official history; when it resurrected the small coupe theme in 2008 it brought back the Scirocco name - and barely acknowledged the existence of the Corrado in its press material.
The general public might not take particularly well to this particular one, either: it's tatty, in need of a respray and, by the admission of the seller, would be 'ideal for someone who likes to tinker'.
On the other hand, it's got plenty of kit, 12 months MOT, and it is pretty much half the price of the next cheapest VR6 we could find out there.
ANd at £995 it's surely a bargain for one of the greatest front-drive chassis ever...
Advert is reproduced below
Volkswagen Corrado VR6 1995 - N (1995)
157,000 miles £995
P/X to clear
A slightly tatty N-reg Met Blue,Corrado vr6 in need of some body work mainly respray, the car starts and drives very well with a very smooth gearbox - lots of service history and bills.
Spec:
Vr6 2.9 12v dohc model
Electric windows and mirrors
remote alarm,power steering,front fogs,abs, Alloy wheels,sunroof, adjustable rear spoiler and steering column.
Now with 12 months MOT...
Ideal for someone who likes to tinker...
Priced to sell...
07799475219 Supercoupes team.
Lovely noise though. A mate of mine used to drive one, but had to get rid of it as it was draining his wallet. He then bought a Mazda RX-8...
We must be a similar age, as I remember a similar fervour around mid-'90s coupes. A schoolfriend's dad worked for Vauxhall around this time and I still remember being picked up from school in one of the first Calibras. I remember thinking at first sight it was an Aston Martin Virage. Same goes for another mate's dad who had a Rover 220 Turbo Coupe. At the time my Dad was tooling around in a Fiat Tipo 16v, which of course shared its underpinnings with the Pininfarina Coupe. Begged him to buy one of those as a replacement, but he decided to get my Mum a Punto instead.
Interesting how most manufacturer's super-hot hatches are basically coupes now. I guess the likes of the RenaultSport Megane and Vauxhall Astra VXR Sportshatch stepped into their shoes.
Lovely noise though. A mate of mine used to drive one, but had to get rid of it as it was draining his wallet. He then bought a Mazda RX-8...
I have found a bit more more information at: http://www.retrocaricons.com/article/Volkswagen_Co...
Usually for £1k you would be limited to the 1.8 an 2.0l 16v corrado models so getting a vr6 is a right bonus. The beauty is at that price even if the body is ruined the engine/box/wiring loom/subframe etc is worth £1k to someone looking to do a conversion.
I still find it amazing that these cars are so underated here on PH even when nearly every magazine review praises the excellent handling and exceptional performance. Even in standard form VR6s can dance rings around many of todays cars especially in real world 40-70mph 3rd an 4th gear driving where they are particularly quick!
Dave
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