Description
Celebrated as one of the defining hot hatches of the 1980s, the Mk2 Golf GTI 16v earned its reputation for solid engineering and advanced design. Launched in 1983 as the successor to the Mk1, it featured a 1. 8 litre fuel injected engine producing 110 bhp. The Mk2’s added weight dulled some of the sharpness of its predecessor, prompting Volkswagen to introduce the 16 valve variant in 1986. With power lifted to 139 bhp, the GTI regained its edge and cemented its status as an icon. Today, the Mk2 is admired by enthusiasts and journalists alike, prized for its blend of character, everyday usability and rising collectability.
I am pleased to present my low mileage 1989 GTI 16v in Tornado red with five former keepers. It comes with a massive history file containing MOT certificates, tax discs and service records that verify the mileage. For its first two decades the car saw gentle use before being taken off the road in 2010. From 2010 to 2023 it was stored and later sympathetically refreshed by Landbeasts Automobile Classica in Essex as a personal restoration project. Their work covered both mechanical and structural areas, resulting in a car that is tidy and honest rather than over restored.
Underneath, the car is notably clean and now fully protected. The bodywork is straight and presentable, and the interior is in similarly good order, and only a small tear on the driver’s seat—replacement material is supplied. On the road, the engine pulls smoothly and the car behaves exactly as a well kept 1980s hot hatch should.
Car has recently gone through its MOT with no advisories, mechanically this car has had many renewed parts which now makes the car reliable for another 30+ years.
I would consider Part-ex either way for either a ford Escort Mk3 XR3, XR3i or RS1600iCar is a original example that hasn’t been messed around with, the car drives superb and everywhere you go people smile, wave etc, most people remebmer the GTI 16v as the car to own at the time.
