Along with gray market importation and the liberal use of bodykits, the 1980s also saw the birth of the unlikely limousine, with cars not commonly stretched ending up with extra doors and rear passenger seating. These days, they still pop up on occasion, and rarely command much in the way of a pricetag unless a buyer prizes the oddball factor. This 1979 VW Rabbit’s here on eBay solitary claim to fame is that it was built by a rally driver and is now listed for $12K somewhere near Yorba Linda, California. 

I’m honestly not sure what sort of cache the “rally driver” connection adds to this build, other than this was potentially his party bus to use around the paddock. This is otherwise a standard Rabbit, albeit with some period alloy wheels with plenty of dish, and some mild motor modifications. The limo design didn’t add any additional doors; it just added the middle section and some glass, which looks like it came from any number of mid-80s vans with a sliding panel feature. The body does look fairly straight going down the sides, but there’s some unevenness at the top of the doors.

Up front, there’s no added luxury for your chauffeur. The interior remains as poverty-spec as any other VW Rabbit, so your driver won’t be impressed with his surroundings. Seats appear to be Recaros taken from a later car and the blue door panels and dash are likely one of the few remnants left that offer clues to the car’s original condition. The engine was also modified, enlarged to a 1.8L with a ported/polished head and electronic ignition out to a straight-pipe exhaust with a glasspack muffler.

The rear seats are from a later MK2 GTi; not sure where the rear-facing back seat originated from, but the lack of fabric coordination gives this Rabbit even more of a homebrew feel than it conjured just by looking at it. That’s the trouble with these one-off conversions, though, is that little thought is given to the final spit-and-polish efforts that make a car shine. There’s so much work involved in just getting the body right that I’m sure many owners are flat-out exhausted when it comes time to sort the interior. The opening bid is crazy but the car itself looks like it could be fun; knock the opening bid price down to $3K and you’ll see way more action.