#HotHatchbacks
Junkyard Find: 1986 Ford Escort GT
Rare Rides: The 1980 Sbarro Super Eight, Not Your Standard Hatchback
The Eighties were the decade that saw the dawn of the hot hatchback. Today’s little red hatchback is really very hot, because it’s entirely a Ferrari 308 underneath.
Rare Rides: The Excellent 1988 Mazda 323 GT-X, a Four-wheel Drive Hot Hatch
Today’s Rare Ride is an Eighties hot hatch from the good people at Mazda. Offered for a short time, the 323 GT-X sold in very limited numbers. Today it’s difficult to find one for sale, but there happens to be one in the rustproof state of Washington.
Junkyard Find: 2001 Volkswagen GTI VR6
Because high-performance German cars require exactly the sort of regular maintenance and attention that most American car owners aren’t so good at doing, I find plenty of nice-looking factory-hot-rod Audis and VWs and Mercedes-Benzes during my junkyard travels. Most of those cars get scrapped because something expensive broke and the third or seventh owner wouldn’t or couldn’t spring for the repair.
Today’s Junkyard Find is different, though — here’s a GTI GLX that was running well enough to drive to the crash, found in a Denver-area self-service yard.
Piston Slap: The Unfortunate, Teachable Moment (Part II)
Mati writes:
Hello Sajeev!
Just finished reading your Piston Slap entry regarding the 2010 Audi A4, and I want to see what you think about my situation. Recently I relocated to the UK for work/travel and will be here for at least two years. I want to try something not available in the U.S. market and take advantage of the open roads here in the outskirts. I don’t live in a big town so no congestion/pollution tax to worry about.My budget is £5,000 purchasing price, and my search for an euro hot hatch gave me only one Japanese branded product , some Fords, and a lot of interesting European models. But all around the 10 year mark give or take. In my situation would it be any better to go with an European 10-year-old hot-hatch then, say, a UK-Built Honda or a Ford?A search on local classified and Bookface nets me a few nice results :- 2008 Honda Civic Coupe Type R
- 2009 Ford Focus ST
- 2007 RENAULTSPORT CLIO 197 F1 TEAM R27 LY 2.0
- 2010 Citroen DS3
- 2010 Peugeot RCZ
- 2009 VW Scirocco
Buy/Drive/Burn: The $13,000 Sporty Car Question of 1988
In the recent Shelby CSX Rare Rides entry, long-term commenter 28-Cars-Later suggested some sporty competitors to the Shelby, all of which cost the same according to the state of Michigan. Japan, Germany, and America are well-represented in today’s trio.
Which one sets your sporty-small-car heart aflame in ’88?
Rare Rides: The Extremely Sporty Yugo GVX From 1988
Everyone’s heard of Yugo — the Yugoslavian brand that tried to shift cheap cars on North American shores in the late Eighties and early Nineties. Their terrible overall quality and general disposable nature means there are very few left today in any sort of presentable condition for Rare Rides. Today’s red beauty is an exception, and it may just be the rarest of the breed.
Let’s check out the super sporty GVX version, from 1988.
Rare Rides: The 1978 Innocenti Mini Is Both De Tomaso and Bertone
Rare Rides returns again to De Tomaso, shortly after it covered the obscure Guarà Barchetta. This time, the subject vehicle is a British-designed Mini, rebodied by Bertone, then sported up by De Tomaso. Quite a pedigree.
Presenting the 1978 Innocenti Mini De Tomaso:
Hyundai's N Performance Brand Getting Halo Vehicle - Eventually
Hyundai’s Veloster may be the first to wear the N badge and we’ve already explained it won’t be the last. However, the plot has thickened slightly. The new division won’t be limited to peppering existing models with enhanced powertrains and sport-inspired accessories, it’s eventually going to have its own halo car.
Thomas Schemera, who was appointed head of Hyundai’s new high performance and motorsport division earlier this year, is claiming that the Veloster N is only “the first phase of N vehicles.” But he isn’t talking about the future N-Line, which is to be comprised of gently tweaked Hyundai cars. Apparently, the group is developing a halo performance model to show off what the sporting division can really do.
New Details Spilled on Hyundai Veloster N; Additional Performance Variants to Wear N Badge
Hyundai’s Veloster has gone from an oddball offering drivers a reasonably good time on a budget to something that can compete with the Volkswagen GTI and Civic Si. It’s no longer the hot hatch you settled on to save money; it’s a legitimate alternative.
Outfitted properly, the updated Hyundai can hold its own in the hot hatch segment. However, it does not appear to shame any of the veteran entrants. The GTI remains the total package while other models offer their own unique advantages. But the Veloster, specifically the R-Spec with the 1.6-liter turbo, remains in the mix with a leaner price tag.
This changes when the Hyundai’s N sub-brand arrives in the U.S. market.
Junkyard Find: 1996 BMW 318ti California Edition
Rare Rides: A 1991 Ford Fiesta RS Turbo - Slightly Better Than Our Festiva
In 1991, customers had a couple of hatchback options from the Blue Oval in the United States, in either the compact or subcompact segments. At the bottom of the barrel (in all ways) was the Mazda-designed Festiva, and positioned above it was the Mazda-based Escort.
Across the pond, Europeans received a Ford which was actually a Ford — the Fiesta.
Rare Rides: A 1997 Peugeot 106 GTI From Our Canadian Neighbours
As we all know, our neighbors to the north keep things warm and tropical. Additionally, they have less government, and fewer regulations. This lack of regulation is what makes today’s Peugeot possible.
It’s a very tidy 106 GTI, from 1997.
Rare Rides: This 1990 Renault 5 GT Turbo Is Le Car's Big Brother
Ah, bygone French cars. Citroen, Peugeot, and Renault all abandoned the American market by the early 1990s, leaving behind mostly memories of poor reliability and shoddy trim on underpowered little cars. But those in the know are aware of the other side of the coin. It’s the side where France was (is?) great at producing hot hatchbacks. French style and engineering came together to compete with the founder of the breed, the Volkswagen GTI.
For those people, today is a special day. Presenting the Renault 5 GT Turbo:
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