1989 Golf GTI Mk2 8v

Highlights

• Tidy Mk 2 GTI with extensive history file
• Original wheels and four-lamp grille included
• Great overall condition
• Original 8v example
• Mechanically unmodified

Overview

GTI. Three letters that define the motoring landscape of the 1980s – a brave new era of fuel-injection, sports seats and jazzy interior fabrics, to go with double denim, knee-high socks, stonewashed jeans and white trainers. What a time to be alive…

It was Volkswagen that was the founding father of the GTI era, its original high-performance Golf coming to the market four years before the decade of Thatcherism and the rampant consumerism that came with it. You can argue all you like about politics and greed, but it’s impossible to deny that the Eighties gave us some pretty desirable metal as a result of societal one-upmanship, much of it German, all of it aspirational.

The softer, rounder VW Golf Mk 2 made its debut at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show, designed in-house under the supervision of VW's design director Herbert Schäfer, as an evolution of the Giugiaro original.

It was a well-engineered and handsome car, bigger and more solid than most of its rivals, yet also surprisingly agile. It’s no surprise, then, that in 1984 a second generation GTI appeared, building on the original’s success and joining a slew of new GTI-badged cars from rival manufacturers (here’s looking at you, Peugeot…)

The original Mk 2 GTI had a 112bhp eight-valve 1.8-litre engine, which sounds modest by today’s performance standards but was lively enough and some prefer the delivery of the 8v engine to that of the slightly more powerful 16v version that was sold alongside it.

With its new-found following among affluent, upwardly mobile young owners, the Golf found itself head and shoulder pads above most of its hot hatch rivals; the original and best. But over the next two decades, the MK 2 GTI became extremely popular with the modifying community – and that means that an unmodified, unmolested GTI is a very rare car indeed.

But that’s pretty much what we have here. Aside from being slightly lowered, with non-standard wheels and a twin headlamp grille (the originals of both are included in the sale), G209 TTM is a pretty much standard GTI – a three-door eight-valver, enthusiast owned and garaged for the past 14 years. If you’ve always fancied the archetypal hot hatch hero, then here’s your chance.

History and documentation

• UK V5C in the name of the vendor
• MOT to October 2025
• All old MOTs
• Selection of bills and invoices for recent parts and maintenance
• Original service book showing first owner as building company, Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, and the car supplied new by Autoway VW of Letchworth Garden City
• Services at PDI (1989 - main dealer), 9,809 miles (1990 – main dealer), 17,832 miles 1991 – main dealer), 41,639 miles (1994 – independent), 48,412 miles (1995 –independent), 58,201 (1997 – main dealer), 67,113 (1998 – main dealer), 76,202 (1999 – main dealer), 86,012 (2000 – main dealer), 91,898 (2001 – main dealer), 97,601 (2002 – main dealer), 101,898 (2004 – main dealer), 105,501 (2005 – main dealer), 106,301 (2007 – main dealer), 107,584 (2008 – main dealer), 109,634 (2009 – independent), 120,467 (2021 – independent), 131,276 (2018 – independent), 133,572 (2021 – Vauxhall main dealer), 134,123 (2022 – Vauxhall main dealer)
• Immobiliser and two keys

Interior

• Velour sports seats with traditional blue and yellow check upholstery
• Some slight wear to driver’s seat
• Staining and two small tears in the passenger seat, but vendor has replacement fabric
• Smart door cards and carpets
• Original dash with no cracks
• Manual windows
• Tilt and slide sunroof
• Original steering wheel and golf ball gear knob
• Sony USB/Bluetooth CD Stereo
• 450w sub woofer
• Speaker cutouts in parcel shelf
• Covers missing from door speakers

Exterior

• Original Helios Blue
• Presents well overall with some minor cosmetic areas requiring attention
• Minor rust patches near number plate and on rear valance
• Appears solid underneath and has never received any MOT advisories for corrosion
• Some small dents on the bonnet
• Small chips in windscreen
• Non-standard steel wheels with good tyre tread all-round
• Some areas of slight surface corrosion in panel seams
• Minor blemishes to front bumper
• As this is an original, unrestored car, bidders should expect some small marks, chips and scuffs commensurate with the car’s age and usage, but it’s a good example that presents well overall

Mechanical

• Original 1,781cc 8v engine
• Five-speed manual transmission
• Eibach lowering springs
• Bilstein gas shocks
• Cambelt replaced in 2018 at 131,276 miles
• No power steering
• Original wheels, grille and spare bonnet included

Summary

Legends become legends for a reason – and in many ways the Mk2 Golf GTI is the definitive performance hot hatch of its era, even more sought-after today than it was in its yuppie heyday.

It’s not absolutely perfect, but this is a smart and solid example of the Mk2 GTI that’s in very sound and overall good order, only lightly modified and a great way of getting yourself into the thriving VW scene whilst also owning a 1980s icon.

To arrange a viewing, please request this in the Q&A section. You can click through to the seller's profile and use the 'Email Me' function to arrange a viewing privately. This seller is located in Herefordshire.