Yahoo Autos Pre-GTI 1978 VW Rabbit Is Today's Pick on Bring a Trailer
Rabbits are quick, nimble, and hard to catch. Ditto this Volkswagen.
The Rabbit was the preeminent small car in the latter half of the 1970s, and hundreds of thousands were sold, although few survive.
This example is one of the early, round-headlight, German-built models, and has been treated to a host of tasty upgrades.
Following up on a smash hit can be tricky business—just ask Dexy's Midnight Runners what happened after "Come on Eileen"—but such is the position Volkswagen found itself in the 1970s. Beetle sales were slumping in the U.S., the company was getting out-competed by Opel in its home market of Germany, and a fresh and modern replacement people's car was badly needed. Faced with a crisis, VW decided to take up Golf.
Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the original Volkswagen Golf is one of the great automotive success stories. In the North American market, we knew the first Golf as the sprightly yet thrifty VW Rabbit—like this 1978 example up for auction on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos).
This '78 Rabbit was originally a Canadian-market car and, more importantly, one of the early round-headlight models that were assembled in Germany. Many North American Rabbits were built at Volkswagen's Westmoreland assembly plant in Pennsylvania, and the consensus is that those cars weren't quite as well assembled as the German ones. This one has had the maple syrup hosed off it and been brought to California.
It should be noted that this little Vee-dub is not emissions-compliant for California (so it can't be registered there) but is old enough to be exempt from emissions inspection in most states. It's largely original but has a few nice upgrades, including a throttle body from VW specialist Neuspeed, a high-flow exhaust, and a Wilwood big brake kit up front. H&R coilovers and 15-inch steel wheels from a Corrado complete the look of a small but hyperactive terrier of a car.
Now, the question many are probably asking is, "Why not a GTI instead?" The Mk 1 GTI is rightly held up as one of the great driver cars of all time, worthy of inclusion alongside the E30 BMW M3, original Mazda Miata, and early Mini Cooper. Well, here's the thing: Mk 1 GTI values have been steadily climbing for ages. U.S. models made their magic with only 96 horsepower, and this car's 1.5-liter four had a respectable 70 horses from the factory. And, really, it's hard to find any VW of this that's this well-kept.
This Rabbit also has just enough little flaws that you wouldn't mind flogging it hard through the corners, which is where so many owners first fell in love with these cars. True mileage is unknown, so get out there and add your own zeroes to the odometer and have fun while doing so. The only reason that the GTI became such a legend was because the base car was so good. This one, with its classy round-headlight looks and tidy upgrades, should be a hoot.
This auction ends on October 29.
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