As OEMs made cheaper and cheaper cars throughout the ’70s and ’80s, one of the tricks they used to make a car seem “fancier” was trim packages. From denim interiors to bicentennial red, white, and blue packages, the car manufacturers stopped at nothing to get customers into their showrooms. One of the rarest packages created can be found on this 1981 VW Rabbit Truck. This truck comes to us from Eugene, Oregon, and can be seen here on Craigslist. Is the $19,750 asking price audacious for an old rabbit truck, or does this rare trim package and the originality of this VW make this a good buy?
The VW crowd has always had strong opinions on the late or water-cooled models that VW brought to market in 1973. The hardcore VW fan believes air is the only liquid that should be cooling engines and should be in the rear of the car. VW did its best to prolong the brand’s quirkiness with the first water-cooled models. Instead of building curvaceous cars like the Beetles and Karmann Ghias, these new models were all straight lines and angles. While the new models in 1973 were the typical econoboxes of the period that didn’t set any Nurburgring track records, they set the foundation for another wave of VW fanboys and girls with interesting choices different from the standard fare being offered by the other OEMs.
The cornerstone of this was the venerable Rabbit. Released as the Golf in every other part of the world, VW called it a Rabbit in the US because of its small and nimble stature. The Rabbit pickup truck, affectionately called a Caddy in VW circles, sprung from this architecture. Launched to compete with the mini-trucks coming out of Japan, the Rabbit truck was only produced from 1979-1984.
It wasn’t easy to find any information for this particular trim model. One website said only 500 of these trucks were produced, but I couldn’t validate this elsewhere. Regardless, the color and stripes look oh-so-nice on this ’80s model, especially with the period cap. The owner has done everything possible to keep this truck as close to its original condition as possible while doing a mechanical and interior restoration. Knowing how hard it is to find some of these parts in good condition, I can certainly appreciate that. As cars and trucks from this period continue to fall out of favor and get crushed, it is nice to know that some rides as clean as this one can still be bought and enjoyed. Thank you so much to Tony Primo for sending this prime example!
I couldn’t believe when I saw this. My Dad had a good friend many years ago that had a red VW Sport truck. It was the only one I remember seeing, I got to ride in it many times and fell in love with it. I always liked the GTI steering wheel. He had it for many years, and served him well. Whenever I do get an opportunity to see a VW pickup I always stop and look at it. Had another friend who’s Dad had a diesel pickup. That was another great little truck. Great find thank you for posting it.
Future RADWood entrant
These were very practical and versatile and got great fuel economy. We had one of these as our shop truck when I worked my first technician job at the independent VW and Audi shop. My boss had somehow come across a European GTI cylinder head and we sourced the special pistons to build a euro GTI 1600 engine. I built the engine and installed it in the 80 VW truck with a close ratio 5-speed from a GTI and had our own sport truck. For those in the know the euro mark 1 GTI engine had Heron combustion chambers meaning the pistons contained the chamber and the cylinder head was flat like a diesel. My .02c FWIW.
When I was racing our ’79 Fiesta at SIR near Seattle,
we needed to do some work & get parts from a friend’s place
in Woodenville.A fellow racer loaned me his VW pickup,as we
had driven the Fiesta to the race from Northern California.Before
I returned it to him,I filled it with fuel.I was amazed at just how
cheap it was to fill up.
This is one cool rig,& probably all some people really need
to drive.Of course,there’s not a lot of room in the interior to carry
personal items.
And I thought I was the only one crazy enough to race a Fiesta. In ’98 a bunch of us in the local sports car club rebuilt a tired Fiesta race car to run in a 24 hour New Years race.Took 4 months to rebuild the car only to come in second to a pretty lady driving a VW Rabbit.
My kid brother raced one as well, Bob! I co-signed for him (he’d just turned 17) and he drove off in a metallic blue Fiesta S-and when I saw it the next day he was on an Autocross course at the (then) Centennial Coliseum parking lot with the inside rear wheel in the air on the tight corners. Great fun. Practically indestructible.
Don’t remember any VW Trucks or Rabbits ever racing there in Reno though.
We’ve got plenty of Rabbits here on the east coast including a husband and wife team in SCCA road racing. She drives a sedan and he drives a cabriolet. After doing two 24 races the car pictured spent 10 years autocrossing with some road racing thrown in. Tough little buggers.
When I owned a Fiesta,I went to the local Honda motorcycle
dealer & got one of their bumper stickers about the three wheelers
they sold then.I put it on the back window of the Fiesta,covering up
the Honda emblem with a small “Ford” sticker.It read –
“WARNING:I DRIVE ON THREE WHEELS”
😆👍🏻
Pretty clever and totally apropos sir!! And still it fits perfectly
Great racing stories BUT am I the only the one that hit the floor with the $19K price tag?
It is on the high side,& probably won’t sell at that price.
And I agree – those wheels need to be replaced,maybe put some
GTI wheels on it.
“The hardcore VW fan believes air is the only liquid that should be cooling engines”
I think you meant to say “fluid” in place of “liquid.” Air at atmospheric conditions is most definitely not a liquid, but it is a fluid.
While I’m at it, whoever put those wheels on it should be barred from laying hands on any part of a car other than the door handles and steering wheel.
You’re right, CCFisher! My chemistry profs are shaking their heads.
And you’re right about the wheels, too!
Are those wheels original equipment? They don’t look right to me. One thing that would have to go is the cap. There was something oh so tacky about bed caps of that era. It’s a pretty little truck, but that price seems on the high side to me
Nice little truck but if I were going to buy one I would get the diesel
It might be worth $500 if you include the ones in the background. Afterall they are all VW which make them worthless except for parts.
Wow. The crazy statements some people make on here! SMH
It will sell at that price!! Sportrucks are rare. Same as the Rabbit S with the same interior treatment. 80 to 83 on the Sportruck and 81 and 82 0n the Rabbit S.
Just have to scroll on by with some comments…
gimmie the ‘rabbit’ diesel p/u truck any day.
I just took apart a 2015 Gulf fora thermostat. 1st off it was 269.28$
at the dealer. It had 8 to 12 ‘holes’ (openings/hoses/lines), madea
plastic, hada remove the intake & more. Buried. Hours work. “They
dont build em like they used to…”
But yes, I like this lill red job. My sis’s rabbit lasted 20 yrs…
We bought a used Sportruck years ago, found a gasoline- powered one and had the seller’s mechanics fix the a/c! It had the big grey graphics and was tomato red, I can’t remember what model year it was. The interior was pretty standard basic VW, not prettied up like this one. I added a performance exhaust and it was pretty useful until I was at the toll Plaza at the Dumbarton Bridge and it suddenly blew a bunch of oil out, cloud of smoke too. It was still running and I got a U-turn and stopped at the first place I could, put in 2 quarts of oil and it promptly ran fine. I never did find out what the “oil incident” was, but we moved on and someone got a nice little truck. I do miss it and I’m looking at a newer generation being designed nearby, a Telo: the same size as my Mini but can hold a 4×8 plywood sheet.
I had two VW rabbits in my early years.
My orange 1975 that the color matched the highway dividers color and a 82 rabbit grey in color.
The 75 had less issues but both econo boxes were super high decibel to rattle your ears and heads on long drives.
Good lick with sale..