RE: Spotted: VW Lupo GTI

RE: Spotted: VW Lupo GTI

Thursday 21st February 2013

Spotted: VW Lupo GTI

Lightweight, beautifully made and still good looking it's little wonder hot Lupos remain sought after



I'm not about to go off on some Philip Larkin-esque missive but I've never quite been able to forgive my mum for almost buying a Lupo GTI. The 'almost' is the critical word here, her commendably impulsive car buying habits usually working to my favour. Like the time she took her Tipo to the Fiat dealership for a new clutch and came back with a brand new Cinquecento Sporting. "The salesman was VERY FRIENDLY," she said, somewhat defensively. As good a car as the Tipo was there were no complaints from me.

Dan still sore about missing out on a Lupo
Dan still sore about missing out on a Lupo
I wasn't living at home at the time but I knew from the tone of her voice on the phone that something had become of the Cinquecento. Then the admission that its place had been taken by an Alfa 145 Cloverleaf which, mysteriously, came and went before my next visit home and was never mentioned again. "I did almost buy one of those nice little Lupo GTIs though," she said in passing.

She should have done. And she should have kept it too, looking at the prices these things are now going for in the PH classifieds.

Launched in December 2000 and updated with a six-speed gearbox for the 2002 model-year halfway through 2001, the little Lupo hails from a period in VW group history in which premium car engineering and quality surfaced in ostensibly junior models. With cars like the A2, the seemingly never-ending Veyron project, the Bentley Conti and others, this was Piech encouraging a culture of engineering indulgence, not always in the most obvious places.

Interior in a different league, red belts 'fast'
Interior in a different league, red belts 'fast'
Which is how the little Lupo ended up with a large number of bespoke aluminium panels - wings, doors and bonnet - and a sub-1,000kg kerbweight. Enough to give the Polo GTI-donated 125hp 1.6-litre engine something to be going on with (the Lupo's 8.3-second 0-62 and 127mph top speed were comparable to the later 1.8-litre turbo Polo GTI) and matched with an all-pervading sense of quality and solidity that recent, more ruthlessly price-oriented engineering has all-but wiped out. £12,980 was not cheap given it'd also get you in the much more potent Clio 172 at the time but including xenon lights and cabin quality Clio owners could only dream of the Lupo was a proper premium proposition wrapped in compact dimensions. Red seat belts, like the Cinquecento, were also cool.

Only 125hp but less than a tonne to lug around
Only 125hp but less than a tonne to lug around
Going by HowManyLeft a good proportion of the near-1,000 cars sold in the UK survive, with 822 showing as registered last year. Not a bad survival rate for a hot hatch but it's a little car with quite a following and you'll need around £4,000 to get in one now. Are there many other cars retaining over a third of their value after 10 years on the road? Probably not, and especially not little runabouts like the Lupo.

This one, up for £4,650, looks to have been well-loved and is one of the MY2002 cars with the six-speeder, too. Black looks classy, and those subtly-boosted lines have aged very well indeed. Sorry Mum, but you should've bought this one back in the day. And what the hell did happen with that Alfa?


VOLKSWAGEN LUPO GTI
Engine:
1,598cc 4-cyl
Transmission: 5-speed manual (6-speed post-MY2002)
Power (hp): 125@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 112@3,000rpm
MPG: 38.7 (official combined)
CO2: N/A
First registered: 2002
Recorded mileage: 70,000
Price new: £12,980
Yours for: £4,650

See the original advert here.


Author
Discussion

Mermaid

Original Poster:

21,492 posts

170 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
quotequote all
Love these little pocket rockets, great handling, plenty of power to have fun.

MagicalTrevor

6,476 posts

228 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
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Was hoping the advert was going to be for something in the £2k-£3k bracket. My Wife loves these.

pSyCoSiS

3,581 posts

204 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
quotequote all
These are cool, capable little cars.

I also like the Polo GTi (6N2 models). They look like a neat little package, with the BBS alloys and Xenon headlights.

Didn't realise these Lupos still sell for this sort of money....

billzeebub

3,862 posts

198 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
quotequote all
great little car for bombing around the city. I have always loved the way they look too. A guy in my local VW Dealer has a mint silver one, I always spend as much time eulogising about it as he does my Corrado VR6!..very strong values is the only thing that has detered me from having one at the back of the garage

BBS-LM

3,972 posts

223 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
quotequote all
Love these little Lupo GTI, they go very well when you shoe horn the 1.8T lump in them. biggrin

VEA

4,785 posts

200 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
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I had one for a couple of years, loved it too!

Cracking little car if you want something that small, needs now dicate I need something a bit larger but if I was in the market for a small run around I would definitely be looking back in that direction again.

TTOBES

609 posts

166 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
quotequote all
I often wondered when this car would make it onto a Pistonheads article!

I owned a 2004 example between Oct 2007 and Nov 2010 and I loved it. It was especially rapid when completing the last few miles in London after a four hour journey.

I miss mine terribly. At first I thought "God, I've just spent almost nine grand on this". Mine was black with the red/grey interior and had air con. I added a VW 6CD player shortly after buying the car.

Great for driving around London and parking on single yellows in town on Sundays!

Two months ago, a private car dealer near Southampton had a red 53 reg example for sale with just one previous owner and 19,000 miles on the clock! Amazing.







I sold the Lupo a month before my A1 was due to arrive. If anyone wants more information on these cars, the www.clublupo.co.uk website is still very active.

Mike Gill

51 posts

170 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
quotequote all
Love them, but you could buy a 1.4 16v sport for peanuts, spend some money on it and have a just as quick if not quicker. Equally for the same money you could get a mint Clio 182 and even the Clio 197s are gettin into the sub 5k category, let a lone a Type R. But I do see the attraction, must be very reliable great to drive and cheap to run, these smaller warm hatches are greatfun but would find it hard spending over 4k on one.

stuckmojo

2,955 posts

187 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
quotequote all
Great little car.

This is for me the type of car FWD is perfect for; light, small and ideal to thrash around at legal speeds.

I'd love one actually.

Roadster25

272 posts

161 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
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My mother in law has a 2004 model. I've been waiting for her to get bored and sell it to me for about 5 years now...

WillBrumBrum

607 posts

197 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
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I drove one of these when they came out in 2000 and wow, what fantastic brakes.

RumbleOfThunder

3,546 posts

202 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
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VW Lupo's are beautifully made now are they?

omgus

7,305 posts

174 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
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I'm so glad it is not just me that as a lot of affection for these little cars.
thumbup

PunterCam

1,069 posts

194 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
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I almost persuaded my folks to "lend" me money for one many years ago! That or an EK9 - both have held their value brilliantly! Damn! Great little car, too old for one now.

dxg

8,121 posts

259 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
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After six years, I still love mine!

RacingBlue

1,394 posts

163 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
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I love these. It's a shame though so many have been comprehensively ruined by the 'euro' boys :-(

1OS

164 posts

141 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
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I considered one of these a while back and part of me really regrets not taking it any further than a brief bit of research as they look great fun. Retention of value has never really been a factor for me when car buying but for one of these it's pretty strong!

Alfa numeric

3,021 posts

178 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
quotequote all
Dan's Article said:
And what the hell did happen with that Alfa?
If it was anything like my 146ti the engine probably started to make ominus noises...

Didn't the Lupo GTI share its aluminium panels with the Bluemotion?

JREwing

17,540 posts

178 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
quotequote all
I've never liked the looks at all, but I have no idea what they're like to drive etc. I do have a memory (going on anecdotal evidence) of the 'quality' being little more than skin-deep, but again, that's anecdotal and I can't verify it from experience.

roystinho

3,767 posts

174 months

Thursday 21st February 2013
quotequote all
Yep cracking little car. Could easily see one as a sporty little daily number. Though I wonder out of the 822 left how many have been 'barry'd'?