The VW Corrado – VW’s Best Driver turns 30

The VW Corrado is turning 30 – and so the first models achieve the status of a classic car. This has quite the impact on the fan following, considering that in the 1980s and 1990s most young enthusiasts during their youth reserved a cozy place on their shelf for a model car of the Corrado, right next to the obligatory Lamborghini Countach; Ferrari Testarossa und various Porsches.

VW Corrado – Iconic but pricy

The first VW Corrado came out of the manufacturing plant in October 1988 and was destined to become an iconic car unprecedented: The unchallenged highlight of the Corrado’s design is its rear spoiler that automatically extends at speeds beyond 120 km/h. In 1988 this was considered an unseen novelty, that was only also featured by the Lancia Thema 8.32 and the Porsche 911 (production series 964) which came out the same year. On top there were a bunch of standard equipment items included, like power steering, adjustable bucket seats, electric side mirrors and ABS.

The VW COrrado and its many faces

Though the development and the massive standard equipment package catapulted the VW Corrado instantly into a much higher price range, e.g. in comparison to the Scirocco, its predecessor. The Corrado’s base price was estimated around twice as much as one would have paid for a Golf. To most VW Corrado fanciers the range of engines is well known: 2.0L (115hp), 1,8 G60 (160hp), 2,0 16V (136hp) and at long last the strongest among the VW engines from that period – The 2.9L VR6 (190hp). The Corrado’s iconic status within the VW enthusiast scene is also considered to stem from the sheer endless discussions about the superiority of one engine over another.

Also its brawny look and those powerful engines resulted in a particular kind of popularity towards the Corrado among tuners. This went so far that an original VW Corrado is quite the rarity these days. 2009 the German scrappage bonus enhanced this state of rarity, reducing the Corrado’s numbers further and further. That leads to the sad conclusion that a well-groomed Corrado in original condition is an incredibly rare catch.

The two following facelift VW Corrados do not show specific signs of their 24 years long existence though.

VW Corrado 2,0 16V (1994)

This wonderful kept-original Corrado has had only one previous owner and merely ran 66.000 km. It is in pristine condition, inside as well as on the exterior. The former owner expanded those already copious equipment features by adding an air-conditioner. And that purple paintjob (Dark Burgundy) suits the Corrado as a representative of 80s and 90s sports cars quite nicely.

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VW Corrado 2,9 VR6 (1994)

235 km/h. This Corrado comes with VW’s most powerful engine from that period. This VR6 is truly thirsty – that really was not an issue though, back in 1994. Also this dream in white has ran handsome 88465 miles so far and is still in its original condition.

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What those two models share is the fact that their prices have gone way up and have not reached their limit. That may be because from those 97.521 produced units there are only 5.216 registered Corrados left in Germany.

Which Corrado one favors is a question of personal taste. I myself close at this point with my personal recommendation: A pre-facelift VW Corrado with a G60 engine.

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Fotos Volkswagen AG, Classic Trader

Autor: Niklas Braun

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