It would be hard to top last week’s Touareg V10 TDI for automotive risk. So I haven’t even tried it, although you’ll notice that this week’s pill does keep it in the family. Yes, it’s a modified Volkswagen Corrado VR6 but at a good price. It’s definitely not perfect, but it’s cheap enough that you wouldn’t really expect it.
The price of our five-under-five grand pill seems very reasonable given the feverish nature of large parts of the neoclassical market at the moment – it’s £1,000 less than the dealer selling the Austin Ambassador which he presented at the beginning of the month. asking Volkswagen’s relatively modest question is also surprising given both the fact that there doesn’t seem to be anything substantially wrong with it, and the number of times in the past that enthusiasts have predicted the Corrado sitting on the platform of release
Back in 2003, a young Richard Hammond predicted on Top Gear that the VR6 would become a highly desirable modern classic, in the same episode in which he sang the praises of what he considered an equally underrated Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 in an attractive shade. Almandine red. (Obviously I completely agree with him on this.)
But while the Hamster’s crystal ball rang true for the Merc, with values quadrupling since the early 1990s, the Corrado continues to underperform the wider market. The dealer selling ours claims that “with some light restoration the car would be worth over £10,000”, which might be true, but not much more. Even the tidier, lower-mileage, limited-run VR6 Storm currently in the ads, and shot on a value-boosting white background, costs £19,995. Which, in a world where Ford Capris are often offered for over £30,000, seems wrong.
Of course, Corrados have been cheaper in the past, although I don’t recall viable VR6s falling much below the £3000 mark. And if you’re ready to consider one of the naturally aspirated four-pot engines, three grand is still a realistic budget for packing a decent one. Perhaps the truth is that the Corrado has always had problems with prices. The most cited reason for slow sales in the first place was the fact that the car was too expensive for what it was, the VR6 combining Golf fundamentals with a price that rivaled the BMW 3 Series Coupe. Fewer than 100,000 Corrados were produced over a seven-year production run, with around 9,000 of them making it to the UK. And while How Many Left estimates that nearly half of these still exist legally, 3,000 are on SORN and only 1,000 are currently recorded.
Volkswagen in the late 1980s was a very different company from the corporate giant it has since become. In 1987, the year before the Corrado debuted, VW’s UK range consisted of just five cars: Polo, Golf, Jetta, Passat and Scirocco, and the Jetta was nothing more than a booted Golf. Although it sold in marginal numbers, the Scirocco was by far the oldest in the line, launched as long ago as 1974, so Volkswagen opted to replace it.
The idea behind the Corrado was simple: take proven mechanical components from the Golf and combine them with a smart new coupé body, which would be built on contract by Karmann in Osnabrück. Early Corrados shared their oil pans with the Mk2 Golf they were superimposed on, with subframes, suspension arms, brakes and steering rack. But the VR6 version arrived later in 1992, and thus took most of its components from the Mk3 Golf that had been launched the previous year. It would also share its top-spec straight six engine.
Volkswagen’s narrow-angle V6 survived well into the 20th century, but this was its first application. The idea was simple enough: with only 15 degrees between the cylinder banks, the engine was compact enough to fit in little more than a four-pot, and could be built with a single cylinder head. Volkswagen made two slightly different versions for the Corrado, both with 12-valve cylinder heads. American cars had a 2.8-liter version with 179 hp, while European versions had a slightly more robust 2.9-liter engine that made 187 hp.
That was an impressively powerful number by 1992 standards, especially in what was essentially a two-door hot hatch. Under the scientific brutality of professional road testing, the VR6 proved it could go from 0 to 60 mph in just 6.4 seconds with its slick aerodynamics giving it a top speed of 150 mph. Figures that made it the fastest that Volkswagen had produced up to that point.
Early reviewers also liked the chassis, despite the relative crudeness of the Golf’s torsion beam axle. In the days before traction control, front-wheel drive made it easier to push harder without worrying about the world suddenly turning backwards, and the Corrado could be coaxed into playing (slightly) with the throttle lifted . For what it’s worth, I had a friend who owned several Volkswagen VR6s around this time and he found the Corrado to be significantly more nimble than the Golf, but that the hatchback Vento sedan was the tidiest handler on the lot as it understeered less . (It definitely didn’t look that good.)
High prices limited demand, but the Corrado VR6 was definitely desirable. It seemed particularly popular with well-to-do 20-somethings who favored brogues and tweed jackets, and anyone standing by Sloane Square in the mid-1990s would rarely have to wait more than a minute before another six-cylinder Golf or Corrado would stretch out. Tim Nice-but-Dim would certainly have aspired to one.
However, fashion is fickle, and as the Corrado aged, its ownership demographic changed, many cars ending up with the various tribes of the Volkswagen scene. While relatively few seem to have received the full Max Power treatment, although I recall at least one gullwing door conversion, many more were subjected to a lower level.
This is what seems to have happened to our Pill. It’s obviously been lowered and fitted with a set of very nineties BBS alloys that barely come out of the wheel arches – the lowered ones would certainly be a challenge. The pictures show what appears to be rust or damage on the rear side arch and there is a small dent on the front wing. It’s also lost its front Volkswagen badge and gained pressed metal plaques, both of which are easily reversible, while the leather upholstery inside has taken on the patina of a close-up of Mick Jagger’s face.
The MOT history is more green than red, although with plenty of notices in the past for worn tyres, suspension bushings and brakes. Crucially, there is no mention of structural corrosion, which is reassuring given the susceptibility of any car of this age to rot. The log also shows what appears to be a mileage discrepancy, though that suggests a speedometer change rather than anything deliberate. Mileage had gradually increased to 174,000 in 2017, then fell to 136,000 the following year. It’s gone back up since then, so the odometer is definitely running, but the 147,000 miles at the time of last testing is potentially 40,000 short of the car’s true figure. Which is a good indication of how tough a VR6 can be.
So does this VR6 look like an investment-grade future classic? Not really, even if Corrado values do shoot up, it seems unlikely that an investor would be looking for something with that many miles and a non-standard past to park around with air conditioning. But our Pill looks like a car that, with a little TLC and a more realistic suspension, could be used and enjoyed for much longer.
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