1983 Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk1 Campaign

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 impressive counterparts simply by looking at it.

The vendor bought the car in May 2011 and drove it for about a year before deciding to get busy on it.

He spent a total of around 9 years restoring this car, finishing the project a couple of years ago.

In 2006, the odometer read 71,822 miles. In 2012, when the vendor began his labour of love, it was showing 83,219 miles.

Today, the figure is just 84,522 miles.

The vendor is a skilled engineer with over 30 years’ experience and he has owned, and worked on, many other classic cars.

He stripped the car down and sent the chassis, shell and doors off to a specialist workshop for a full bare-metal restoration.

With most of the car being well-preserved and solid, he just needed to source (at considerable cost) original replacement front wings to complement the restored chassis, shell and doors.

He then set about a complete, nut and bolt restoration of the rest of the car, save for the interior, which is wholly original aside from new headlining.

The engine, which was a particularly good unit, needed little doing to it.

The vendor rebuilt the gearbox and had the axles, suspension, bearings, braking system and many other components refurbished, restored or replaced as necessary. The wiring loom was inspected and fitted with new plugs throughout.

The ambition – and the result – was a car that’s as good or better than it would have been when it left the factory.

Viewed from any angle, this is a seriously good-looking car.

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

The bodywork is reassuringly free of any dents, dinks, creases, ripples folds or other aberrations of consequence. There is however, a small 'pin' dent on the sunroof (shown in the image gallery).

Places that are nearly always scuffed and scraped, like the lower lip of the front valance, are beyond reproach on this car.

Even entirely standard, two-a-penny stone chips and scratches are far more notable for their absence than their presence.

The fabulous ‘Campaign’ wheels with their Pirelli badging and logo-derived perimeter scoops are in excellent condition and look to us to be wholly unacquainted with kerbs or other roadside hazards.

The matching Avon tyres have barely seen any action and look to have plenty of miles left in them.

The car’s black paintwork has an impressive depth of shine and lustre to it.

The exterior plastics have all been replaced with new ones.

The lights, lenses and badging are all in very fine fettle, as is the fully functional sunroof.

In short, it’s all very, very good indeed.

The condition of the interior is extraordinary even for its mileage, never mind its age.

Everything except for the replaced headlining is authentic, original, genuine and as it looked when Wolfgang and Gunther waved it farewell from the end of the production line in 1983.

It must be keeping a portrait of a decrepit version of itself in an attic somewhere.

The striped grey and black fabric upholstery looks pretty much as good as new and is free of any nicks, splits or other faults that we can see anywhere.

The door cards are in fine condition, as is the replacement headlining.

The carpets and mats are following the same script as the rest of it in terms of quality and condition.

It’s the same story 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 without hesitation, deviation or repetition.

The luggage bay is equally pristine and the only indicators that this car is actually 42 years old are a few scuffs on the underside of the parcel shelf.

Somehow, we don’t imagine those will prove to be a deal-breaker.

The engine bay looks as clean, dry and correct as you’d hope and expect to find on a car that’s been so fastidiously restored, cared-for and curated.

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

Everything appears to be in its right and proper place, as far as we can tell.

The undersides of the car seem to us to be only barely acquainted with any sort of road grime, or weather, or use, and look pretty much showroom-fresh.

This car comes with a pack of manuals and a service book that’s bristling with main dealer stamps.

It comes with a pack of manuals, a ring binder full of reciepts and MoT's going back decades, full sets of keys, a V5C and a recent, clear HPI report.

It also has an MoT certificate, with no advisories, that’s valid until 29.6.25.

This car changed the face of motoring forever and created, almost single-handedly, an entirely new category.

We’ve seen quite a few impressive examples over the years.

We don’t remember ever seeing a better one than this.

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 with the customer please click the "contact seller" button to arrange a viewing. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT.