You're currently on a website dedicated to cars, which means you probably have a strong opinion one way or another of the Fast and the Furious film franchise.
On one hand, you might view the F&F series as being a grand catalyst for a whole generation of car enthusiasts. On the other, you might consider it total garbage and an insult to the art of cinema.
And ... both views are probably fair.
Over the years, the series has shifted from being clearly about the cars (and the slow motion footage of bikini-clad women) to being a heist series.
Those early films saw their cars become bona-fide stars over time; driving up their market value and spurring on the aftermarket sector. We're talking about the Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline GT-R, Honda S2000, and much more.
But not all cars followed this same template, particularly from the first movie where the lines of what was cool and what wasn't were less defined. The admittedly very potent and quick Nissan Maxima was among the first movie's four-wheeled ensemble, but it didn't necessarily get much new-found fame.
The Maxima was one of several off-centre car choices from the first two films. And one of the others was this Volkswagen Jetta.
It's never been a big name in New Zealand, but in the US the humble Jetta has long been a staple of first-car buyers. It's also one of the only German cars that's ever had some kind of role in F&F (as the car of tech genius Jesse, losing in a pink-slip race before later getting shot in a street gang drive-by).
The pictured Jetta is no replica, either. It is a genuine article star car from filming, preserved all these years by — oddly enough — Frankie Muniz from Malcolm in the Middle. The silver screen star bought the Jetta just after the movie came out, and only sold it in 2016.
Now it's up for auction again, and this time the price has gone up from the US$46,000 (NZ$68,000) it achieved two years ago to an asking price of US$100,000 (NZ$150,000) today by current sellers — Luxury Auto Collection in Arizona.
On the surface, the Jetta is an unorthadox concept executed with touring-car style. A period-typical Wings West body-kit is supported by white Konig wheels, and inside it sports a half cage, Sparco race seats, steering wheel, and harnesses, plus a comprehensive Alpine sound system.
But those looking deeper will notice that the Jetta is, quite hilariously, an automatic. That alone casts doubt on the idea that any modifications were done to the Jetta's 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine for the movie.
Nonetheless, this is at least the most famous Volkswagen Jetta on the planet. And for someone, somewhere on this planet, that might just about be enough to justify its six-figure price tag.
