RE: Volkswagen Lupo GTI: Spotted
Saturday 17th March 2018
PH recently got behind the wheel of the new Volkswagen Up GTI, a car which VW has tried very hard to suggest is the successor to the Mk1 Golf GTI. But, leafing through the back catalogue of GTI models, the Up GTI is surely in fact the successor to the Lupo GTI - launched back in 2000 and also said to lay claim to the Mk1's throne.
In early road tests, the Lupo was found to corner well, with little body roll and plenty of grip to keep you pushing forward down B-roads, with surprising speed thanks to the car's sub-1,000kg weight. We last ran a Lupo GTI Spotted in 2013, that car with similar mileage was up for sale at £4,650, so this later model is holding its value well. Perhaps rarity is a factor in that; this model has been imported from Japan and, with only 635 cars left on the road (there were never more than 1,000 in the UK), it is only a matter of time till all the good ones get snatched up.
Volkswagen Lupo GTI: Spotted
The pocket rocket that can bother its younger brother
While showing off its credentials for being a car that can provide fun and quick, Volkswagen was working on a Lupo that consumed only three litres of fuel per 100km. Not as interesting but an amazing feat at the time. Admittedly, when I first saw the '3.0-litre Lupo' in Malta, I was taken aback thinking VW had fitted a 3.0-litre engine in the tiny city car. I was greatly disappointed when I spoke to the owner.
The Lupo GTI was fitted with lighter aluminium panels (doors, bonnet and wheelarches) and borrowed the Polo GTI's 1.6-litre engine, propelling the Lupo to 62mph in 8.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 127mph. Originally fitted with a five-speed box before acquiring a six-speed in 2002, these figures were enough to trouble most 1.8-litre Polo GTI owners. Inside, it carried on the GTI looks with sports seats, leather rimmed steering wheel, polished steel pedals and build quality to rival some of Volkswagen's larger and expensive models.
In this sector, the Renaultsport Twingo 133, Citroen C2 VTS and Mini Cooper can all be considered as strong rivals, but with its limited availability and superior build quality, the Lupo is the safe, yet fun bet.
SPECIFICATION - VOLKSWAGEN LUPO GTI
Engine: 1,598cc 4-cyl
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 125@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 112@3,000rpm
MPG: 38.7 (official combined)
CO2: N/A
First registered: 2004
Recorded mileage: 70,000
Price new: £12,980
Yours for: £4,650
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Discussion
JoshMay said:
Too small, not interesting, and a rubbish name! I’m not feeling the love for this particular car, even if it is a little go-kart.
If you'd spent any time behind the wheel of a Lupo Gti you'd have a very different opinion as these were/are a fantastic little hot hatch and feel much quicker than the on paper numbers suggest.BAM225 said:
rallycross said:
If you'd spent any time behind the wheel of a Lupo Gti you'd have a very different opinion as these were/are a fantastic little hot hatch and feel much quicker than the on paper numbers suggest.
Warm hatch, they were a warm hatch.The modern, bloated iterations of the golfs etc aren't hot hatches any more.
JoshMay said:
it is a little go-kart.
Something I've been meaning to say for ages, cause I've seen this in a few threads now. No the Lupo GTi, nor any other roadgoing fwd hatch does not handle like a go kart. Karts, or at least the ones I've raced, are twitchy, easily unsettled, very prone to power oversteer, easy to spin out in the wet and generally utterly unsuited handling-wise for anything other than being driven on tracks. Which is fine, 'cause that's what they're for. If you tried to drive one over a pothole at speed, it'd probably break and so would you.Whatever small hot fwd hatch doesn't handle like that, and nor would you want it to. It probably handles like a well sorted, light fwd hatch, which is well worth celebrating.
I blame Mini's marketing department for this cliché. PH really should know better.
OK, rant over. Sorry.
dunnoreally said:
Something I've been meaning to say for ages, cause I've seen this in a few threads now. No the Lupo GTi, nor any other roadgoing fwd hatch does not handle like a go kart. Karts, or at least the ones I've raced, are twitchy, easily unsettled, very prone to power oversteer, easy to spin out in the wet and generally utterly unsuited handling-wise for anything other than being driven on tracks. Which is fine, 'cause that's what they're for. If you tried to drive one over a pothole at speed, it'd probably break and so would you.
Whatever small hot fwd hatch doesn't handle like that, and nor would you want it to. It probably handles like a well sorted, light fwd hatch, which is well worth celebrating.
I blame Mini's marketing department for this cliché. PH really should know better.
OK, rant over. Sorry.
You need to chill out - There is just no need to be so serious. Everyone knows what is meant by the go kart thing. Whatever small hot fwd hatch doesn't handle like that, and nor would you want it to. It probably handles like a well sorted, light fwd hatch, which is well worth celebrating.
I blame Mini's marketing department for this cliché. PH really should know better.
OK, rant over. Sorry.
I owned a 6N2 Polo GTI and thought for normal road driving on a daily basis it was better than the Mk2 MX5 I had before it. Same nice engine as the Lupo GTI although the Lupo came with a 6 speed box which wasn't made of cheese.
BeirutTaxi said:
You need to chill out - There is just no need to be so serious. Everyone knows what is meant by the go kart thing.
Do they? I certainly don't. I mean, I've owned 2 Pumas and a Saxo Vtr. Were any of them supposed to feel like go karts?Don't get me wrong, I'm not genuinely angry about things people say on car forums. It's just one of those lazy turns of phrase which, imo, basically doesn't mean anything, and I've always found a bit irritating as a result.
And yes, actually I'm very fun at parties :P
They are a very rare and special little car, lots of small differences between the normal Lupo, much more so than there were between a Golf and a Golf GTI for example. I've had two and loved them. It's hard to find a nice standard one now though. Japanese imports seem to be the way forward in this regard.
As a bonus they are practically depreciation proof.
As a bonus they are practically depreciation proof.
nickfrog said:
Really tough crowd to please. So much negativity.
If you can't appreciate why this car was / is quite special / interesting in its own rights then you're probably lucky enough to drive something far more special. But then looking at the garages, it doesn't seem to be the case...
It's Pistonheads, everything is sIf you can't appreciate why this car was / is quite special / interesting in its own rights then you're probably lucky enough to drive something far more special. But then looking at the garages, it doesn't seem to be the case...
t.BAM225 said:
Warm hatch, they were a warm hatch.
Which, lets be honest, is where all the fun is. Hot hatches, which are all the size, weight and power of yesteryear's 5 series are hardly hot hatches anyway. I've pretty much driven every hot hatch there's been in recent times, and the only ones I kept were this Lupo (4 years) and a Panda 100HP (3 years). Everything else was swapped after 6 months. What's the point of a hot hatch if you can't enjoy it below 70mph? What's the point?
Love these Lupos. They look so exotic when you see them. Tiny, squat, wide...
BeirutTaxi said:
You need to chill out - There is just no need to be so serious. Everyone knows what is meant by the go kart thing.
I owned a 6N2 Polo GTI and thought for normal road driving on a daily basis it was better than the Mk2 MX5 I had before it. Same nice engine as the Lupo GTI although the Lupo came with a 6 speed box which wasn't made of cheese.
Yep, totally agree. My everyday tool is a big German estate car, but my GF has a Series 1 Mini Cooper with the Chili Pack, and I always likened it's handling to a 'go-kart', because that is exactly what it felt like after getting out of my armoured couch. Funny enough, I also own a Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi, but with the way that attacks corners and roundabouts, I liken that to a terrier....... obviously it hasn't got a tail and doesn't chew shoes, but everyone seems to get what I mean when I say it!!! I owned a 6N2 Polo GTI and thought for normal road driving on a daily basis it was better than the Mk2 MX5 I had before it. Same nice engine as the Lupo GTI although the Lupo came with a 6 speed box which wasn't made of cheese.
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