Two weirdly wonderful Volkswagen Corrado prototype up for sale in the US
You'd think that the charming quirk of Volkswagen's cult-classic Corrado would be as weird as it got for the brand in the late-’80s and early-’90s.
But you'd be wrong.
Two Corrado 'shooting brake' prototypes were produced in 1989 by a third-party company, juxtaposing their two-door format with a space in the back big enough for every piece of extreme sport paraphernalia you can think of. And both are now for sale.
They were named the Magnum Sport Kombi. Initially 200 of the machines were scheduled for production, but the project met the bin prematurely.
Channeling the spirit of cars like the Reliant Schmitar and Volvo P1800ES, the Sport Kombi is a curious looking creature. From the rear we can see taillights from an Audi parts bin. 'M' badges of a different kind are nestled in the front grill of each example. The belt line squiggles up and down like a snake, while the roof line is as flat as a pancake.
While both are red and both are manuals, only one features leather interior and wood paneling. Both feature Volkswagen's 166 horsepower G-Lader supercharger G60 engine. The pair also sport alternate sets of wheels.
Funnily enough, the pairing have reportedly spent a long period of their lives up for sale. But with prices at the time set in the millions (the sale also included documents, tooling, and various other gubbins), buyers were impossible to find.
The cars seemed set for the scrap heap, until they were discovered online by several Corrado nuts — finding their way to the US in 2007 as a result before eventually becoming road legal seven years later when they celebrated their 25th birthdays.
The two near-identical examples, both for sale at the same New York dealership, are available for 50,000USD (74,000NZD) a piece. That might sound like a lot for a 25-year-old Eurobox, but you'd be hard pressed to find something more rare for less.
