Around the 1990’s, the term “hot hatch” was beginning to catch on, as more and more companies made fast and sporty versions of their favourite family hatchbacks. These have been a huge success over the years, and none more than the Volkswagen Golf GTI.
The first Mk1 Golf GTI rolled onto British shores in 1979 and they haven’t stopped since, they are the epitome of the hot hatch. But the Golf isn’t the only fast small car that VW made around that time. Alongside the iconic Mk2 Golf also came two lesser known three-door sports coupes. The first was the Scirocco and the one I’m here to talk about, the Corrado.
I can tell you the exact moment I fell in love with the Corrado and knew I needed to own one: On my way home as a secondary school student, I would take the same route home every day. And on this route, if the weather was right, would be a beautiful VR6 Corrado in Flash Red with original Speedline alloys. It was a beautiful thing, it stood out from the sea of boring family cars and grey saloons that would usually litter the streets. I would ogle over this thing whenever I got the chance, and I knew that one day I would have to make one mine.
Fast forward to 2017 and the sale of my Peugeot 407 Coupe. With a short commute and little need for something practical at the time, I was determined that my next car would be my very own Volkswagen Corrado. I was finally going to own one of my true bucket list cars.
The one I landed on was a ’92 2.0 16v in the same Flash Red that I had fallen in love with so many years ago. This one also had a couple modifications, these I will go into more detail in a moment. One of the things I wasn’t so keen on was the tint on the lights, but that was an easy fix, so I snapped it up there and then.
So the question now is, what was it really like to meet one of my heroes? Well it certainly had its ups and downs that’s for sure.
My car had been tinkered with by the previous owner with such mods as coilover suspension, custom exhaust, upgraded alloys and a lot to the engine including bike carbs and a custom ECU, race cams and many other things I’m sure I’ve forgotten. The problem with a couple of these mods is that they were not-so expertly done or backed up with supporting mods.
The car would constantly overheat and absolutely refused to be stood in traffic for more than a few minutes. The custom ECU and hard limiter broke, meaning the car would only rev to about half its redline before cutting out. The wiring was a hot mess and needed a lot of fixing from years of splicing and bodge jobs. The suspension that had “only done a couple thousand miles” was completely seized and it was so low that the tyres would hit the arches constantly.
The interior was also in pretty poor shape. The door cards had begun to peel apart, the headlining needed work and the boot floor was mostly imaginary. It gives you an idea of how it was treated before my ownership, a lot of good ideas executed with the least amount of money and effort needed.
Unfortunately because of these issues, I spent more of my ownership fixing the car than I did driving it, which is to be expected for a classic car but definitely did take the shine off owning it. But after a LOT of work, a few reversals of mods and little additions of my own, the car was beginning to take shape and become the car I had always imagined.
I can tell you without a doubt that this car put the biggest smile on my face. Owning something so raw and simple made even the most mundane of drives a treat, and given the opportunity it was great to row through a few gears and hear the engine sing. The retrofitted R1 carbs gave a satisfying whoosh of intake noise when burying your foot into the carpet. This, matched with the low and loud bellow of the exhaust was enough to make your hairs raise even at slow speeds.
The suspension and steering (once fixed) was also great when showing the Corrado a few corners, the steering edged on the heavy side and gave a lot of feedback through the wheel. It was great to barrel into a corner and stamp on the upgraded brakes as the overrun would give satisfying pops and bangs from the exhaust and the occasional lick of flame. The stiff suspension however did make for a less than comfortable ride on a long journey but getting it up to cruising speed and watching the active rear wing pop up brings a child-like grin to my face.
Did you know that the VW Corrado shared its wing mirrors with the Mclaren F1?
Another thing that I loved about driving this car is just how much attention it used to attract. Driving a classic car as a daily will attract attention on its own, but the Corrado used to attract even more than the norm. I would regularly get flashes from fellow VW owners, classic car owners or just regular joes driving by. It used to turn heads, get pointed at and recieve the occasional nod of approval from a passer-by.
It was also a regular occurrence for older generations to come up and talk to me about the car, being nostalgic about seeing or owning them in their younger days and appreciating that a younger person was keeping a classic going. It was extremely touching to have this connection with people, making their day simply by parking up and giving them 5 minutes to share this passion.
My favourite interaction in this car was with a police officer who came over to talk to me about my car and appreciate it with his colleague. He then went on to show me his own Mk2 Golf that he was restoring and told me how it was great to see another enthusiast keeping classics on the road.
For as much of a nightmare this car was to own a lot of the time, it more than made up for it when I was able to take it out on the road and really appreciate it. The raw driving experience mixed with the joy it seemingly brought to others was perfect for an enthusiast like me.
I must admit if I were to own another, I would be looking for a VR6 with very little done in the way of modifications. But when all is said and done? I definitely don’t regret meeting one of my motoring heroes.
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