Discussion
Having been inspired by this thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... I thought I should start a thread on my 'GTI at 19' 
At the start of this year I decided that it was time to move on from my classic Mini - as fantastic as it was, as a daily driver it was starting to grate on me, especially through the winter when those bright sunny days where it was a joy to drive are few and far between. However, if I was selling it, I didn't want to replace it with a dull-as-ditchwater ecobox, I wanted something a bit different.
Having turned 19 in March and gained 2 years no-claims, I was able to afford to insure something a bit quicker. I've always liked the Lupo GTI and its rarity was a big attraction, as well as the fact it has a 1.6 instead of a 2.0 which would keep the insurance down. Whenever this car is mentioned a lot of people say they can't believe the price they sell for and the lack of depreciation, but what isn't immediately noticeable is the amount of effort VW went to in order to make it a properly specialised performance car. It has thinner glass, a wider track, aluminum bonnet, wings and doors, a trick diff, hydraulic clutch, the engine is derived from a Polo rally car, the list goes on and it means that it's pretty much impossible (and pointless) to turn a standard Lupo into a GTI. This was unheard of in a car this size and would never happen today - they'd just shove a big engine in with a bodykit and bigger brakes and stick it on sale.
The fact that they're rare means you have to travel to find a good one, and I did - we covered about 1000 miles searching! I wanted one that was completely standard, and due to the fact that they appeal to the 'dubsters' who ruin them, a lot on sale were dismissed straight away. I eventually found a nice 2003 anthracite model which had done 49k; it had been lowered slightly but looked good. When we went to view it, we found out it had been part of a collection of VWs for around 3 years where it had covered just 1000 miles! Also, on seeing it in the flesh, I actually preferred it sitting slightly lower and the ride wasn't bad at all. The following week we picked it up and it was mine
I originally wanted a red or blue one, but no blue cars were for sale and the red one we looked at was a big disappointment. The bonus of having anthracite is that it's one of the rarest colours - there's only 33 other anthracite GTIs on the road. My dad bought a machine polisher a few weeks ago so we gave it the treatment today - I forgot to take some before pics but the difference is unbelievable.
In my ownership, it's had the wheels refurbed and new discs and pads all round and I added the red trim on the grille, GTI sill strips and GTI stickers on the brake calipers, but aside from that I've left it alone as IMO it's great as standard. It's now on 52k and has been mechanically faultless - went down to London for the weekend with the OH and averaged 41mpg which I thought was very respectable. I do mainly town driving day-to-day and average about 28-30 which is about the same as I got from my Mini. It's an absolute riot on back roads and you need to keep a firm grip of the wheel as it torquesteers a bit if you floor it in the lower gears! It's ideal for me as having 'only' 125bhp means it's quick but not so fast that it's likely to throw me into a ditch at every opportunity - when you're used to 38bhp it feels more than fast enough
Plan is to just maintain its current condition and keep it as it is; there's some electrical gremlins which I'm having sorted tomorrow and then it'll be completely faultless.
Thanks for looking
At the start of this year I decided that it was time to move on from my classic Mini - as fantastic as it was, as a daily driver it was starting to grate on me, especially through the winter when those bright sunny days where it was a joy to drive are few and far between. However, if I was selling it, I didn't want to replace it with a dull-as-ditchwater ecobox, I wanted something a bit different.
Having turned 19 in March and gained 2 years no-claims, I was able to afford to insure something a bit quicker. I've always liked the Lupo GTI and its rarity was a big attraction, as well as the fact it has a 1.6 instead of a 2.0 which would keep the insurance down. Whenever this car is mentioned a lot of people say they can't believe the price they sell for and the lack of depreciation, but what isn't immediately noticeable is the amount of effort VW went to in order to make it a properly specialised performance car. It has thinner glass, a wider track, aluminum bonnet, wings and doors, a trick diff, hydraulic clutch, the engine is derived from a Polo rally car, the list goes on and it means that it's pretty much impossible (and pointless) to turn a standard Lupo into a GTI. This was unheard of in a car this size and would never happen today - they'd just shove a big engine in with a bodykit and bigger brakes and stick it on sale.
The fact that they're rare means you have to travel to find a good one, and I did - we covered about 1000 miles searching! I wanted one that was completely standard, and due to the fact that they appeal to the 'dubsters' who ruin them, a lot on sale were dismissed straight away. I eventually found a nice 2003 anthracite model which had done 49k; it had been lowered slightly but looked good. When we went to view it, we found out it had been part of a collection of VWs for around 3 years where it had covered just 1000 miles! Also, on seeing it in the flesh, I actually preferred it sitting slightly lower and the ride wasn't bad at all. The following week we picked it up and it was mine
I originally wanted a red or blue one, but no blue cars were for sale and the red one we looked at was a big disappointment. The bonus of having anthracite is that it's one of the rarest colours - there's only 33 other anthracite GTIs on the road. My dad bought a machine polisher a few weeks ago so we gave it the treatment today - I forgot to take some before pics but the difference is unbelievable.
In my ownership, it's had the wheels refurbed and new discs and pads all round and I added the red trim on the grille, GTI sill strips and GTI stickers on the brake calipers, but aside from that I've left it alone as IMO it's great as standard. It's now on 52k and has been mechanically faultless - went down to London for the weekend with the OH and averaged 41mpg which I thought was very respectable. I do mainly town driving day-to-day and average about 28-30 which is about the same as I got from my Mini. It's an absolute riot on back roads and you need to keep a firm grip of the wheel as it torquesteers a bit if you floor it in the lower gears! It's ideal for me as having 'only' 125bhp means it's quick but not so fast that it's likely to throw me into a ditch at every opportunity - when you're used to 38bhp it feels more than fast enough
Plan is to just maintain its current condition and keep it as it is; there's some electrical gremlins which I'm having sorted tomorrow and then it'll be completely faultless.Thanks for looking
Thanks for the great comments
Took it down to Auto Technic in Sheffield today to have a new indicator stalk put on, they did it in 3 hours which I thought was excellent service, highly recommended! One of the guys there was mad about GTIs and knew everything there was to know about them - he said mine was one of the best he'd seen so can't complain with that
He identified a few other bits that want doing like new door check straps (they're made of cheese on these) and the wheel alignment being slightly out, so I'll get that done at some point but with the MOT looming next month I know it should now fly through - I'll probably still have the nerves I had when I used to take the Mini for its test though
Took it down to Auto Technic in Sheffield today to have a new indicator stalk put on, they did it in 3 hours which I thought was excellent service, highly recommended! One of the guys there was mad about GTIs and knew everything there was to know about them - he said mine was one of the best he'd seen so can't complain with that
He identified a few other bits that want doing like new door check straps (they're made of cheese on these) and the wheel alignment being slightly out, so I'll get that done at some point but with the MOT looming next month I know it should now fly through - I'll probably still have the nerves I had when I used to take the Mini for its test though
Defcon5 said:
Sir Fergie said:
one thing to be aware of on Lupos is that they rust underneath the black plastic (can't think of the proper name)gutter things on the roof.
Definitely something to keep an eye out for and deal with early.
My understanding - is that its not a case of - it might rust under the black things on the roof - but that IT WILL rust there.
Sorry
Such a nice little car too
It's hit and miss, some do some don't. My GTI had it but VW fixed it and re sprayed half the car for free, even at 10 years old.Definitely something to keep an eye out for and deal with early.
My understanding - is that its not a case of - it might rust under the black things on the roof - but that IT WILL rust there.
Sorry
Such a nice little car too
My Sport doesn't even have a hint of it. The gutter strips are body coloured though, not black.
Defcon, I looked at my engine cover today and noticed that the right hand clip on the back seems to have broken off.
Thought I'd update this as the miles have been racking up on the Lupo - I've done 4k since April which for me is a lot of miles in six months. It continues to be an absolute joy to drive and own and hasn't missed a beat apart from a few bits that have needed doing.
A few months ago I noticed a squeak coming from the nearside rear wheel - I immediately suspected a bearing might have gone. A trip down to Auto Tecnic discovered that it was actually the exhaust as the clips holding it on had broken free, meaning it was just sitting on top of them and bouncing, causing the squeak. The exhaust is massive compared to the size of the car and the brackets aren't really up to the job of holding it in place. They'd been welded before (it looked a bit of a bodge in truth) and the middle section of exhaust was quite badly corroded. I had the brackets welded back on and up to now it's been fine, but I plan to have it done properly and the centre section replaced after the winter when my wallet can cope with the hammering
The main thing that frustrates me with the car is that it spends 90% of its life in town, meaning I rarely get the chance to give it a good blast. I decided to take it to North Wales to do exactly that and explore some of the fantastic roads over there - I did the Llanberis Pass, B4391, Evo Triangle and Nant y Garth Pass but in truth, every road was driving nirvana as they were almost completely deserted. The GTI was an absolute hoot and it felt right at home on those roads which seemed ideal for a good hot hatch I didn't take many pictures as I was too busy driving, but these were taken at the end of the B4391 while I waited for my cooked brakes to cool
After being laid up for 2 weeks while I was on holiday in France, I took the Lupo on a 450-mile round trip for a short break with the OH in London and then Manchester. Aside from a blast home over the Snake Pass, the driving involved long motorway slogs which, surprisingly, showed that it is a perfectly adequate long-distance cruiser. At 70 in 6th it spins at just over 3k which might seem high but in reality there is only a small hum from the engine which reaches the cabin and the seats are extremely comfortable - after the 4 and a half hour drive up to Manchester I got out and felt like I'd just been to the shops! It was a part of the car's character I didn't expect and best of all, I averaged 41mpg which included being stuck in traffic getting out of London which I was very pleased with. The only drawback is the small fuel tank - the best I managed is 280 miles between fill-ups.
Overall I'm continuing to enjoy the car and can see it staying for the foreseeable future - I haven't felt the urge for more power just yet!
A few months ago I noticed a squeak coming from the nearside rear wheel - I immediately suspected a bearing might have gone. A trip down to Auto Tecnic discovered that it was actually the exhaust as the clips holding it on had broken free, meaning it was just sitting on top of them and bouncing, causing the squeak. The exhaust is massive compared to the size of the car and the brackets aren't really up to the job of holding it in place. They'd been welded before (it looked a bit of a bodge in truth) and the middle section of exhaust was quite badly corroded. I had the brackets welded back on and up to now it's been fine, but I plan to have it done properly and the centre section replaced after the winter when my wallet can cope with the hammering
The main thing that frustrates me with the car is that it spends 90% of its life in town, meaning I rarely get the chance to give it a good blast. I decided to take it to North Wales to do exactly that and explore some of the fantastic roads over there - I did the Llanberis Pass, B4391, Evo Triangle and Nant y Garth Pass but in truth, every road was driving nirvana as they were almost completely deserted. The GTI was an absolute hoot and it felt right at home on those roads which seemed ideal for a good hot hatch
I didn't take many pictures as I was too busy driving, but these were taken at the end of the B4391 while I waited for my cooked brakes to cool After being laid up for 2 weeks while I was on holiday in France, I took the Lupo on a 450-mile round trip for a short break with the OH in London and then Manchester. Aside from a blast home over the Snake Pass, the driving involved long motorway slogs which, surprisingly, showed that it is a perfectly adequate long-distance cruiser. At 70 in 6th it spins at just over 3k which might seem high but in reality there is only a small hum from the engine which reaches the cabin and the seats are extremely comfortable - after the 4 and a half hour drive up to Manchester I got out and felt like I'd just been to the shops! It was a part of the car's character I didn't expect and best of all, I averaged 41mpg which included being stuck in traffic getting out of London which I was very pleased with. The only drawback is the small fuel tank - the best I managed is 280 miles between fill-ups.
Overall I'm continuing to enjoy the car and can see it staying for the foreseeable future - I haven't felt the urge for more power just yet!
Thought I'd update this thread as I haven't for too long - changes have happened!
The grey Lupo has now been sold to a lady from Birmingham who had been looking for an anthracite model for two years!
I took it up to 73k and it still drove as well as the day I bought it - brilliant car and I would say it will be missed, but...
... I've bought another one!
This was never planned; one evening I was browsing Auto Trader and noticed a 2005 blue GTI for sale, only 45k and it had the heated leather with air con. If I could have afforded one when new (and was old enough to drive!) it was the exact spec I would have picked. I later discovered that the car was not the more common Raven Blue, but was in fact Laser Blue, a colour that was only offered at the very end of production. This meant that the car was one of less than ten made in Laser Blue!
I phoned the seller that evening, arranged to view the car but then received a text the following day saying someone else wanted to view it the day before! I expected this due to the provenance of the car so had to leave a deposit before even looking at it. After a long and boring trip to Norwich (you can't pop down to your local dealer for these cars), I found that the photos flattered it (nothing new there) and it needed some TLC but was without doubt a straight car and definitely worth buying. The seller bought it for his girlfriend and was amazed how much interest he'd had - he clearly had no idea how rare the car was. Needless to say I kept quiet about that
I picked it up the following week but didn't sell my grey one straight away as I wanted to get the new car up to standard. It basically needed a bloody good clean - a machine polish brought the paintwork up as good as new and the main cost was getting the wheels refurbed as they were in a sorry state.
This was the result:
With the hot weather this week I'm very much enjoying having air con as it's the first car I've owned which has had it. Plan is to keep the car exactly as it is - although my old one was on coilovers I'm quite enjoying the comfier ride and want to keep things original. I've stuck a K&N filter in it and left everything else as I just want to enjoy the car as it is. With rare cars like these you can't normally get your perfect spec but I've been lucky enough to do that
The grey Lupo has now been sold to a lady from Birmingham who had been looking for an anthracite model for two years!
I took it up to 73k and it still drove as well as the day I bought it - brilliant car and I would say it will be missed, but...... I've bought another one!
This was never planned; one evening I was browsing Auto Trader and noticed a 2005 blue GTI for sale, only 45k and it had the heated leather with air con. If I could have afforded one when new (and was old enough to drive!) it was the exact spec I would have picked. I later discovered that the car was not the more common Raven Blue, but was in fact Laser Blue, a colour that was only offered at the very end of production. This meant that the car was one of less than ten made in Laser Blue!
I phoned the seller that evening, arranged to view the car but then received a text the following day saying someone else wanted to view it the day before! I expected this due to the provenance of the car so had to leave a deposit before even looking at it. After a long and boring trip to Norwich (you can't pop down to your local dealer for these cars), I found that the photos flattered it (nothing new there) and it needed some TLC but was without doubt a straight car and definitely worth buying. The seller bought it for his girlfriend and was amazed how much interest he'd had - he clearly had no idea how rare the car was. Needless to say I kept quiet about that
I picked it up the following week but didn't sell my grey one straight away as I wanted to get the new car up to standard. It basically needed a bloody good clean - a machine polish brought the paintwork up as good as new and the main cost was getting the wheels refurbed as they were in a sorry state.
This was the result:
With the hot weather this week I'm very much enjoying having air con as it's the first car I've owned which has had it. Plan is to keep the car exactly as it is - although my old one was on coilovers I'm quite enjoying the comfier ride and want to keep things original. I've stuck a K&N filter in it and left everything else as I just want to enjoy the car as it is. With rare cars like these you can't normally get your perfect spec but I've been lucky enough to do that
Edited by chriscoates on Wednesday 17th August 20:49
dxg said:
I don't need to tell you that you've picked up something special. It's even got the right floor mats in it.
Strangely, I'm now seeing *more* of these about. There's three local to me, now, when I'd been the only one for years.
I've had mine ten years and will keep it for another ten if I possibly can!
Those aren't actually the right floor mats - those were the only things that were missing! My brother works as a parts advisor for Ford and Kia and he noticed how similar the ones for a Kia ProCee'd were, so ordered me some and I've put those in instead.Strangely, I'm now seeing *more* of these about. There's three local to me, now, when I'd been the only one for years.
I've had mine ten years and will keep it for another ten if I possibly can!
Max M4X WW said:
So the grey one didn't have aircon? A 2003 GTi, weird!
New one looks good though!
Air con was never offered as standard as far as I'm aware.New one looks good though!
Thought I'd give this thread a quick update.
The car is now on 54k, so has seen plenty of use in the past year. After having a classic Mini and my first Lupo which didn't have many toys and bemoaning people obsessed with gadgets, I now can't imagine life without heated leather and aircon
Had a few little bits seen to on the car last month - it shared the same auxiliary belt squeak on cold starts as my old one, which made it sound like a bag of spanners for the first few miles and annoyed me no end. Had the belt changed along with the pulley which cured the problem. It flew through the MOT which was pleasing and the owner of the garage who look after it has had Lupos in the past, so when he said 'where do you find these GTIs from?! It's mint' I was pretty chuffed
A few photos:
With my brother's Swift Sport, which has its own thread on here somewhere. Having driven them back-to-back, the Swift is the modern equivalent of the Lupo but it has the edge as far as raw handling goes - the chassis on that thing is brilliant and it's more fun to drive quickly. But for general day-to-day driving, it's more of an event to be in the GTI because of its rarity.
Making friends (and avoiding door dings) at Sainsbury's.
At the Doncaster Racecourse VW show - as with most shows I go to, mine was the only unmodified GTI there!
There are a few marks and scrapes on the bodywork which are bothering me, most of which were on the car when I bought it, so I may well have those sorted out over the summer. That aside, it's simply a case of keeping it the same and enjoying it
The car is now on 54k, so has seen plenty of use in the past year. After having a classic Mini and my first Lupo which didn't have many toys and bemoaning people obsessed with gadgets, I now can't imagine life without heated leather and aircon
Had a few little bits seen to on the car last month - it shared the same auxiliary belt squeak on cold starts as my old one, which made it sound like a bag of spanners for the first few miles and annoyed me no end. Had the belt changed along with the pulley which cured the problem. It flew through the MOT which was pleasing and the owner of the garage who look after it has had Lupos in the past, so when he said 'where do you find these GTIs from?! It's mint' I was pretty chuffed
A few photos:
With my brother's Swift Sport, which has its own thread on here somewhere. Having driven them back-to-back, the Swift is the modern equivalent of the Lupo but it has the edge as far as raw handling goes - the chassis on that thing is brilliant and it's more fun to drive quickly. But for general day-to-day driving, it's more of an event to be in the GTI because of its rarity.
Making friends (and avoiding door dings
) at Sainsbury's.At the Doncaster Racecourse VW show - as with most shows I go to, mine was the only unmodified GTI there!
There are a few marks and scrapes on the bodywork which are bothering me, most of which were on the car when I bought it, so I may well have those sorted out over the summer. That aside, it's simply a case of keeping it the same and enjoying it
laurenanx said:
I randomly found your forum when I noticed my car on Google images and thought, that number plate looks familiar! I was the lady who brought your anthracite lupo. She's nearly on 80k now wishing my new job wasn't so far away..
Past her mot with flying colours though! Can't believe it's been nearly a year now.
[url
|https://thumbsnap.com/OC5QBXUm[/url]
Glad to hear the car's treating you well. As you can see I wasn't without one for long! Seeing yours with the coilovers on reminds me how good it looked - sometimes wish mine sat a bit lower. Past her mot with flying colours though! Can't believe it's been nearly a year now.
[url
|https://thumbsnap.com/OC5QBXUm[/url]Feel free to update this thread with anything about the car in the future
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