{"id":1821687,"date":"2026-03-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1821687"},"modified":"2026-03-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:00:00","slug":"this-super-rare-mk2-volkswagen-golf-rallye-could-be-yours-for-cheap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1821687","title":{"rendered":"This super-rare Mk2 Volkswagen Golf Rallye could be yours for cheap"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Mk2 Volkswagen Golf GTI is excellent. Also a bit of a clich\u00e9, if we\u2019re honest. So much so, TopGear.com is almost one per cent certain its status as peak hot hatch stretches all the way back to the \u2018father of history\u2019 himself, good old Herodotus.<\/p>\n

Speaking of rare Greeks, here\u2019s a lesser-known way to get yer Mk2 Hot Golf fix and avoid the hyperbole: it\u2019s a lovely, 1989 Golf Rallye, offered up for auction via Bring a Trailer. It currently resides in Greece, having been imported over from Germany.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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According to the listing, it\u2019s been the subject of a very thorough restoration, including a full rebuild of the supercharged 1.8-litre four-pot up front; a rebuild that includes forged pistons, a new pulley for the \u2018G-Lader\u2019, and better engine management software.<\/p>\n

No word on how much power it now makes, but out of the box, these things churned out a healthy (for 1989) 160bhp and 164lb ft. That\u2019s delivered to a five-speed gearbox and all four wheels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Well, sometimes. If the front wheels can\u2019t cope with what they\u2019re being asked to achieve. But whatever, we\u2019re calling it: it\u2019s a classic 4WD Golf. Stick that in yer FWD pipe, Mr so-called GTI.<\/p>\n

Some of the body panels have been replaced \u2013 boxier than the regular Golf \u2013 there\u2019s new AVO suspension and poly bushes, and the whole thing looks\u2026 rather lovely indeed. Different too, thanks to the Rallye\u2019s pinching of the Jetta\u2019s headlights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This one\u2019s decked out in black, features Recaro seats, and has just 1,600 miles on the clock. Though, that\u2019s only 1,600 miles since the rebuild, not since 1989.<\/p>\n

Oh, right, the rare thing. VW built around 5,000 examples of the Golf Rallye so that it could go racing in Group A\u2026 where it didn\u2019t really fare very well. Quite heavy (for the time), and not fast enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So no, the Rallye never quite hit the same heady highs as the Mk2 Golf GTI, but surely that only makes it cooler, right? Once you\u2019ve read the listing here<\/a>, get checking down the back of the sofa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Mk2 Volkswagen Golf GTI is excellent. Also a bit of a clich\u00e9, if we\u2019re honest. So much so, TopGear.com is almost one per cent certain its status as peak hot hatch stretches all the way back to the \u2018father of history\u2019 himself, good old Herodotus. Speaking of rare Greeks, here\u2019s a lesser-known way to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-1821687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1821687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1821687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1821687\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1821687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1821687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1821687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}