Hot Hatches
Rare Hot Hatch! 1991 Geo Prizm GSi
No market outside North America received a Toyota (or in this case, a Geo) in this body style with this engine. Only the car-crazed Americans got to play with a E100 Toyota Corolla sedan (re-badged by General Motors as a… more»
Goes Like Hell: 1986 Dodge Omni GLH Turbo
Update – This GLH has been relisted, now with a $3,500 BIN. You can find it here on eBay. Though virtually unheard-of in America today, practical front-wheel-drive hatchbacks appealed to many U.S. buyers during the 1980s. Some manufacturers offered… more»
Practical Fun: 1989 Volkswagen GTI 16V
If you’re a longtime Barn Finds follower then you may remember the first project that Josh and I documented here on the site. It was a GTI that we found along the road. We thought it might be an… more»
Hot Hatch: 1981 Volkswagen Golf GTI
There were a number of cars that preceded the Golf GTI to launch the trend of the Hot Hatch, but the Golf is the car that is acknowledged as the car that defined the term. Barn Finder Drew Z… more»
32k Original Miles: 1984 VW GTI
If you’re a European car enthusiast, it’s hard to ignore the attraction to the first-generation VW GTI. This car checks a lot of boxes: it was iconic; it was fun to drive; it inspired an entire class of entry-level… more»
Rally Special: 1990 Nissan Pulsar GTi-R
The Nissan Pulsar GTi-R was introduced by Nissan as a homologation special to allow it to compete in International Group A in the World Rally Championship. As a road car, it offered surprising performance in a small car package…. more»
The Omni that Goes Like Hell…
When I was a young lad in the early 1980’s I remember doing grocery runs and school shopping at Bamberger’s in my moms ‘81 Dodge Omni. Now I was too young to know at that time how important cars… more»
Rarely Stock: 1984 VW GTI
This first-generation VW GTI is said to have just 73,000 miles from new and remain in preserved condition. The seller claims he is selling the MK1 hot hatch due to lack of use and the desire to own a… more»
Enhanced by Neuspeed: Callaway MK2 VW GTI
In the 1980s, tuner cars were at their peak, with aftermarket companies getting astoundingly close to the OEMs in modifying vehicles barely off the assembly line. From ASC to Callaway, these companies were commissioned with tackling multiple projects on… more»
Refreshed Yet Unrestored: 1984 VW GTI
This 1984 VW GTi is a largely original example that has undergone some basic refreshes to make it a pleasant daily driver. Said to have a tick over 100,000 original miles, the MK1 was put into storage in 1997… more»
GTI Alternative: 1987 Toyota Corolla FX16 GT-S
Seller hyperbole about a certain car being rare because it’s the only one on eBay at the moment is a pet peeve of mine, but I’ll allow it for an original Toyota Corolla FX16 GT-S hatchback. In fact, the… more»
20K Miles from New: 1996 VW GTI
This one brings back memories: a 1996 Volkswagen GTI, seemingly new in the wrapper with just 20,000 original miles. I owned this car’s sibling in high school, a 1999 VW Jetta Wolfsburg Edition, that I loved to bits. This… more»
Two Owner 16 Valve: 1987 VW GTI
Despite once being incredibly common, the second generation models of Volkswagen’s U.S. lineup have all but disappeared from American roads. This is especially true of the so-called “hot” models like the 16-valve GTIs and Jetta GLIs. Unfortunately, years of… more»
Fast Black Box: 1986 Shelby GLHS
The Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon started life as a French econobox, the Talbot Horizon. If you saw this one sitting neglected, you wouldn’t normally give it a second thought, but it’s a bit special. You can almost make out… more»
The Other GTI: 1989 Suzuki Swift GTi
There are certain cars that I will absolutely concede are past the point of saving – even cars that I love. It’s easier to make this determination when thinking about production volume, and how many of a certain model… more»
Red Hot Rabbit: 1984 Volkswagen GTI
Here’s a little ruby gem: a 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI, the vaunted Mark I version of VW’s iconic hot hatch—well, sort of. This U.S.-built car is a pretty different animal from the Golf GTI introduced in Europe in 1976,… more»
