The Volkswagen Rabbit GTI made only 90 hp. Yet it showed Americans that a cheap, practical hatchback could be a riot on a back road. Volkswagen has built that kind of car again and again, from a doorless military-style runabout to a six-speed, all-wheel-drive Golf.
These six earn their place with what they offered when new. Think light weight, clever hardware and engineering that made ordinary roads more entertaining. They run in order, from 1973 to 2004.
1. 1973–1974 Volkswagen Thing
Volkswagen developed the Type 181 for the West German military in the late 1960s, and NATO bought many of them. Later, it sold the Mexican-built version to Americans as the Thing. At $2,750, it undercut a Jeep or a Land Rover by about $1,000, according to Supercars.net.
The fun was in the parts you could take off. According to Supercars.net, the doors came off, the top came off and the windshield folded flat. Meanwhile, a 46-hp Beetle engine did the pushing. Even so, US dealers sold it for the 1973 and 1974 model years only, as Mid America Motorworks notes. Elsewhere, the 181 and its right-hand-drive 182 sibling stayed in production until 1983, with more than 90,000 built.
2. 1983–1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI
Volkswagen built the American GTI in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and introduced it for 1983, according to Sports Car Market. By comparison, a regular 1.8-liter Rabbit made roughly 70 hp. The GTI also wore Pirelli P6 tires and came in black, a dull red, silver or white.
Hagerty lists a 1.8-liter four with K-Jetronic injection, 90 hp and 100 lb-ft in a car of about 2,000 pounds. A close-ratio five-speed got it to 60 mph in under 10 seconds. At about $8,000, it cost roughly $600 more than a loaded Ford Escort GT. Still, Hagerty says it helped define the hot hatch during its two-year run.
3. 1986–1988 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V
The Giugiaro-styled Scirocco got Volkswagen’s twin-cam, 16-valve 1.8 in mid-1986. That engine made 123 hp, up from 90 hp in the earlier eight-valve car.
Volkswagen also fitted larger front brakes and rear discs in place of drums. Stiffer springs, shocks and sway bars followed, according to Hagerty. In another Hagerty profile, the 2,287-lb coupe shows “only mild understeer at the limit.” Sales continued through 1988, when the Corrado replaced it. Today, Hagerty’s price guide puts the best Sciroccos near $60,000, up from just under $13,000 in 2019.
4. 1987–1992 Volkswagen GTI 16V
For 1987, Volkswagen put the 16-valve engine into the second-generation GTI. The 1.8-liter version made 123 hp, and a 2.0-liter took over from 1991 with 134 hp and 133 lb-ft.
Four-wheel disc brakes stayed on the 16V. By contrast, the 1989 eight-valve GTI dropped back to rear drums, as Hagerty’s buyer’s guide explains. Reviewer Leonard Kucinski put its handling simply: “If you know what you’re doing, it will do what you know.” Production moved from Pennsylvania to Puebla, Mexico, in 1988, and 1992 was its last US year.
5. 1990–1991 Volkswagen Corrado G60
Karmann built the Corrado coupe for Volkswagen, and its first US engine was unusual. The G60 used a scroll-type G-Lader supercharger on a 1,781cc four.
That gave 158 hp at 5,600 rpm and 166 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm, according to Hagerty. A rear spoiler rose on motorized struts at speed. At $17,900, it was the most expensive car in Volkswagen’s lineup. In all, Karmann built just under 100,000 Corrados. However, for the 1992 model year, VW replaced the supercharged engine with its VR6.
6. 2004 Volkswagen R32
The R32 brought big power and all-wheel drive to the American Golf. It paired a 240-hp, 3.2-liter VR6 with all-wheel drive derived from the Audi TT 3.2 quattro.
US cars came only with a six-speed manual, and Volkswagen allocated 5,000 of them to the American market. Hagerty values the best examples at an average of $73,300. It also confirms that 2004 was the only model year VW offered the R32 in the United States.
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