Volkswagen Golf GTi MkI 1.8

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Launched in 1974 to replace the venerable VW Beetle, the Golf was light years ahead of its frumpy predecessor and is now widely regarded as the finest small car of its era – perhaps of any era.

Fully described elsewhere in this catalogue (see Lot 128 for technical details of the MkI), it was so fundamentally ‘right’ from the outset that it has remained in production until the present day and has always maintained its position as the undisputed leader in its class. “I sometimes wonder why anyone ever buys anything else,” wrote Jeremy Clarkson in the Sunday Times recently. “I’ll tell you how brilliant it is. VW has spent the last five years working on an all-new model. And what it has ended up with is a Golf. If you set out to rethink the concept of a table, you’ll end up with a table. And if you set out to rethink the concept of a car, you’ll end up with a Golf.”

The first MkI GTi models have the most loyal fans of all though, being lighter, nippier and dare we say it, better looking, than all subsequent models which may have become faster and plusher but they have also become bigger and lardier and the driving experience has been dulled by their extra bulk and weight.

Dating from the last year of production, this February 1983 MkI Gti has the more powerful 1,780cc fuel-injected engine which came out in 1982 and now produced 112bhp and 109lb/ft which raised the top speed to 119mph with 60mph coming up in just 8 seconds. Presented in the classic Eighties shade of Mars Red it has covered some 146,000 miles to date but was fitted with a new speedo at 128,000 miles, the new clock now showing some 18,000 miles (and the old one being retained for inspection).

Said to be “a good rot-free example overall with a very clean interior” it has just been treated to a thorough service and a bout of recommissioning after a period in storage. This included new gear linkages, new manifold, engine and gearbox fluids changed and a new black headlining. The vendor states that “the only non-standard bit I can see is that it is fitted with some adjustable coilover suspension which is in good order and the adjusters are not seized as I have now raised the car to standard height”.

MOTd until August 2015 with no advisories recorded, it comes with sundry receipts, a large bundle of old MOTs and two large boxes of spares which include the original plastic wheel arch extensions, extra seat belts, various trim parts and service items.