1983 Volkswagen Golf GTi Campaign Edition

This exceptional Mk1 is a ‘Campaign’ edition, which was one of the final models offered for sale in the UK and was our version of the ‘Pirelli’ edition (Germany) and the ‘Plus’ edition (France). 

Only 1000 ‘Campaign’ edition cars were made available for sale in the UK, which makes the already rare and much sought-after Mk1 GTi an even rarer and more sought-after vehicle in its ‘Campaign’ guise. 

You can tell the ‘Campaign’ cars from their lesser brethren by the presence of a four-light front grille with inner fog lights, matt black A-pillars and 14-inch Pirelli alloy wheels and centre caps.

And you can tell this particular car apart from its less worthy counterparts simply by looking at it, driving it and trusting the evidence provided by your eyes and ears.

The vendor, who is an engineer, has owned the car since 2013.

He has spent several years and many, many thousands of pounds refurbishing, restoring or replacing everything and anything that needed to be refurbished, restored or replaced.

And he’s done all of this with an eye to keeping the car as faithful to its OEM spec as possible and only upgrading components where and when it would be a bit daft not to. 

So, for example, this car has a Milltech stainless-steel exhaust, which it wouldn’t have had from new. It also has fully-adjustable coil-overs.

On the other hand, while all the engine ancillaries have been replaced, the engine itself has never been reconditioned or rebuilt and is just as it was when Gunther and Wolfgang built it in 1983.

The car has been restored to an exceptionally high standard, as evidenced by the application of paint to areas that will never be seen by prying eyes and where no-one but the vendor would know if it hadn’t been painted.

It has a new floor pan, some new panels and was properly dipped prior to being resprayed – consequently, there’s no rust anywhere that we can see.

Today the odometer is showing 135,000 miles, which is a number that wouldn’t raise the eyebrows of our European or American cousins; people who live in places where continental scale means driving further to get anywhere. 

Besides, it’s a Volkswagen, so it’s been built to last and properly engineered. 

The car presents very well from every angle and is a fine-looking example of the model and the marque.

Not least because the vendor very sensibly removed an aftermarket BBS body-kit and returned the car to its Campaign silhouette.

With simple, elegant lines, an uncluttered profile and compact 1980’s proportions, it makes modern-day equivalents look decidedly stodgy and bloated. 

The bodywork is reassuringly free of any dents, dinks, creases, ripples folds or other aberrations of consequence.

Places that are nearly always scuffed and scraped, like the lower lip of the front valance, have survived the passage of time intact and in fine fettle on this car. 

The dark blue metallic paintwork has plenty of shine and lustre, and even entirely standard, everyday stone chips and scratches are far more notable for their absence than their presence.

There is a little scuffing to be seen on the silver decal strips where they meet the o/s/f wheel-arch.

The ‘Campaign’ wheels with their Pirelli badging are in very good order and the matching Pirelli Cinturato P1 tyres look to have plenty of life in them.

The black plastic trim has resisted the tendency to crack or fade with commendable stoicism. 

The lights, lenses and badging are all in good order, as is the fully functional sunroof. 

It is, in short, fabulous.

The good news continues unabated on the interior, where the same pursuit of OEM originality has been faithfully adopted wherever possible.

Eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed that the front seats are, in fact, two passenger-side seats (you can tell by the placement of the incline/recline lever). 

A previous owner clearly replaced the driver’s seat with one in the same pattern and with the same (very light) patina of wear – and it just happened to be a left-hand seat.

The seats, front and back, are comfortable, functional and supportive, and the grey and black cloth upholstery looks good for the both the car’s mileage and its age.

The door cards are in fine condition, as are the carpets and mats. 

The headlining is free of any rips or tears but is sagging a little in places.

The Blaupunkt stereo is to the original spec. So, too, is the charmingly of-its-era graphic equaliser. The vendor has very sensibly enabled digital connectivity as a welcome nod to the modern world.

It’s the same happy story of good condition with the steering wheel, the iconic ‘golf ball’ gear knob, the handbrake and all other instruments, dials, buttons, levers and switches on and around the dashboard and centre console.

The vendor tells us that everything does what it’s supposed to do promptly and faithfully.

The luggage bay is equally impressive and contains a spare wheel shod in Nexen rubber. 

The sun visors are as thin and crispy as an artisan sourdough pizza, particularly on the passenger side.

Even the briefest peek under the bonnet will serve to reinforce your opinion that this is a properly restored and curated car.

All modern ancillaries, hoses and other components are clearly high-spec items. 

Everything is clean, dry and orderly.

We’d give it 5 stars on a food hygiene rating, never mind a mechanics report.

The undersides of the car are evidently possessed of oodles of structural integrity.

At the time of writing we can report that while the battery takes a charge, it runs down within 24 hours, and so may need replacing.

This car comes with a thick wad of bills, invoices and receipts covering parts ordered and some of the work carried out. 

As the bulk of the work was done by the vendor himself, his time is not accounted for or recorded – but rest assured, this car is a labour of love and one that would have required a great deal of labour.

It comes with full sets of keys, a V5C and an MoT trail which reveals that the car has covered little more than 1,000 miles in the last decade.

Any Mk1 Golf is a coveted and increasingly precious thing, as evidenced by sale prices that are only going one way.

The 200 or so surviving examples of the UK Campaign edition take the rarity, exclusivity and appeal to another level, and this has to be one of the very best, and most sensitively restored examples you could hope to find anywhere.

We like it a lot, we really do.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £18,000 - £23,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.