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Much Less! 1987 Chevy Celebrity Eurosport VR

We last featured one of these fairly rare 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport VRs back in January of this year. Jeff wrote up a great post, but both you and he questioned the $15,000 price tag of the car for sale, admittedly with only 23,000 original miles. Well, this one has 124,486, but looks pretty darned nice and is for sale here on craigslist for only $3,250 or trade. It’s waiting for you in Longview, Washington and was sent to us by our frequent finder Rocco B–thank you!

Apparently you could get a Eurosport VR wagon as well; has anyone ever seen one in person? There’s a great story detailing the genesis of the Eurosport VR here at Autopolis; suffice it to say while there’s not much more there than a regular Celebrity apart from cosmetics, GM did decide to have these built at the plant with the best quality of the five plants that were assembling the A-body cars (Oklahoma City). The cars were actually driven to a supplier called AutoStyle, where they unique to Eurosport parts were installed and then they were driven back to the plant for finishing.

Apart from the cosmetic add ons and a very fancy interior, there really weren’t a lot of changes from the stock Celebrity. However, only about 2,000 of these cars were made, so there’s certainly some rarity there. Rarity doesn’t necessary make collectability, though. By the way, the seller says they spent over $1,000 on those wheels, and only two of the originals are included. I’d want to ask why, although at this price perhaps I shouldn’t be so picky.

To those of us that grew up in the 70s and 80s, this is a really neat interior, especially with the screaming red carpet. This paint color, interestingly enough, was only available on Corvettes, Camaros and Celebrity Eurosport VRs!

I wish the sportiness had continued on to the dash, but budgets had to stop somewhere. Although a manual transmission was available, almost all Eurosport VRs were outfitted as this one with an automatic.

The engine is a regular old 2.8 V6, but it did advertise its multi-port fuel injection right there cast into the intake cover.The engine looks exceptionally clean for a 124,000 miles Chevy. Personally, I’d pay what this one is priced at if it were as good looking in person as it is in the pictures. How about you?

Comments

  1. Avatar Chuck Sibio

    I owned one of these, similar car, however do not remember exactly what year & or model designation. It was white/blue. I really wanted a 5 Series, but was not of the means for that. I remember going from Cleveland to Columbus after a Browns Monday night NFL game, made it home in record time. Woke up the next day to 2 burnt up coil packs ! The car ran badly that next day from the high abuse from that commute.The dealer changed the packs under warranty somewhat reluctantly. Overall it was decent, and looked really cool for a Celebrity at the time.
    The all cosmetic adds for the entire Eurosport series didn’t add anything except a little stiffer suspension, and fat tires & wheels.

    Like 0
  2. Avatar Jeff Staff

    Two years ago, my wife and I had just left the Orlando airport en route to Tampa. Not five minutes after getting on the road, I spotted a VR wagon. Only one I have ever seen. It was haggard but running; I think I was more excited by than any other car I saw in the glitzy world of southern FL that weekend.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Jamie Staff

      Cool! Now I wonder if there were any manual wagons…?

      Like 0
      • Avatar Matt K

        There are a couple of documented five-speed coupes, but no wagons that I’m aware of. The special interior was 87 only, in 88 it got the standard Celebrity interior and the wheels are colored differently as well.

        Like 0
      • Avatar Jamie Staff

        Thanks, Matt. Oh well, so much for that thought. :-)

        Like 0
  3. Avatar Mark

    Looks like a bulked up cavalier

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jamie P

      I was going to say bulked up Cimmarron

      Like 0
  4. Avatar jaymes

    this is what they call domestic rice

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Rock On

    What does the VR stand for…… very rare?

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jamie Staff

      According to what I read, it referenced the VR rated tires, but that seems kinda weak to me.

      Like 0
    • Avatar DICK RUZZIN

      VR stands for VR speed rated tires, which it had.
      The production version was the result of a Chevrolet Eurosport VR that was shown as a concept for the US auto shows.
      I was sent to work in Germany in 1992 and when I came back in 1997 I noticed a red VR sedan at my local gas station outside of Detroit, it was ten year old but looked great. I asked the manager who it belonged to and he said that it belonged to the wife of the nearby Chevrolet dealer. She liked it so much that she refused to accept a new Chevrolet of any kind. YES!
      Dick Ruzzin,EUROSPORT VR design.

      Like 0
    • Avatar scottymac

      I always thought it just stood for very red.

      Like 0
  6. Avatar AMXSTEVE

    2.8 is a under powered sewing machine motor.

    My son inherited my grandfather’s 93 Lumina EURO. It only had 28,000 miles on it with the 3.1 motor. it has 77,000 now and has everything replaced.

    The 3.8 or 4.3 would have been better choices for these cars.

    Like 0
    • Avatar RichS

      I had an ’86 Celebrity wagon that made it to 377K and it was still running fine at the time – the second 440-T4 transmission had failed and after having been declared totalled twice in a month (both accidents were not my fault) I let it go.

      The only internal work to the motor was a timing chain at around 250K.

      Like 0
    • Avatar scottymac

      Agree, but the 2.8 in a Fiero wasn’t bad.

      Like 0
  7. Avatar Tom Driscoll

    Love the interior, and the uniqueness of this car…can’t complain about the price either!

    Like 0
  8. Avatar victor sanchez

    My story starts in May of 1997 when my father felt it was time to get my mom a new car a friend of my sister was selling cars and found a used Caprice but, my dad said no it had to be new. I got a call from him the next morning and being that I am the car guy of the family he wanted to know if I knew someone who could sell him a “new” car we went to Galles Chev here in Albuquerque and we rode around until he spotted THE ONE he went back paid cash for it $16,000 and took it to my mom they were over the moon, Dad died about 6 months later and mom still has her Celebrity still looks new with 54,156 miles

    Like 1
    • Avatar Miguel

      Celebrities were sold from 1982 to 1990. How did you get a new one in 1997?

      Like 3
  9. Avatar JagManBill

    we had an 86 Eurofart that we bought new as a year-end clearance. Four engines in it before 12,000 miles. Tried to do the lemon-law thing but they said as long as Chevy was willing to put engines in it they couldn’t do anything for us. Before it had 14,000 it was someone else’s problem. Traded it for a 77 Seville with 30,000 miles on it. Took off the rear air shocks (replaced with coil-overs) and changed the radio from 8 track to cassette was all we did in 100,000 miles of ownership with the Seville.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Keith

    Fun fact: This car is in Longview, WA. For any of you who remember the 90’s and the band Green Day, their 1994 break out album “Dookie”‘s first single (and the song that made the band famous) was called “Longview” which was dedicated to the town of Longview, WA and the fact that it was such a boring place there was nothing to do there other than sit around watch TV and smoke pot.
    Now, on to the car. Always liked these, the VR Wagon is the one to really get if you can ever find one. Value on these is all over the place. There was the one featured earlier this year as mentioned at $15k (I suspect this is the same one I saw for sale on Ebay in 2015 for about the same price). I’ve seen them for sale at $7500 with 40k miles on them. So this one seems to be priced about right. One thing for sure: If you are looking for a VR, and it is missing ANY of the VR specific trim pieces, they are made from pure unobtainium and cannot be found and obviously are not being reproduced.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Miguel

    Just for your information, most of the Celebrities sold in Mexico were stick shifts on the floor and the Eurosport package was only sold on the Cutlass Cieras. They mixed it up for Mexico.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Rodolfo

      Nope, I have a Celebrity eurosport 1986 standard shifts on the floor, mexican 100%.

      Like 1
  12. Avatar Paul

    My father was a traveling salesman who drove a 1984 Celebrity wagon with the 4.3 V6 diesel. My father loved the fact that he’d achieve over 40MPG on the highway in a big, comfy car. And diesel fuel was cheap back then. My father would drive approximately 40,000 miles a year. Yeah, that’s a whole lot of mileage in a year’s time. He put over 400,000 miles on that Celebrity and never had any major issues with the car, unlike the piece of junk 1996 Dodge Caravan that my dad got in place of the Celebrity that was always breaking down!

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Todd Jessen

    My nephew Austin gave his celebrity Eurosport to me approximately 3 yrs. Ago, it’s
    the one Jeff posted this one is the one in the photos wanting to sell you can get info @ beachway grocery on on ocean beach hwy.

    Like 0

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