Car Magazine September 1984 VW Golf GTI Abarth Renault Turbo Scirocco SKU 1526

Original Car Magazine – September 1984, a substantial vintage performance and motoring issue with a particularly strong focus on the Volkswagen Golf GTI, hot hatchbacks, performance figures, contemporary road tests and European performance cars.

The dramatic front cover carries the headline “Exploding The Golf GTi Myth”, showing two performance hatchbacks at night with their lamps illuminated. This issue is especially relevant to collectors of 1980s hot-hatch culture, Volkswagen material and period European performance-car journalism.

Main Volkswagen Golf GTI Feature

A major section of this issue investigates the reputation and performance of the Volkswagen Golf GTI, comparing it with contemporary rivals and examining whether the GTI deserved its increasingly legendary status.

The contents identify:

• “The Sting” – Volkswagen Golf GTI
• Golf GTI performance examined against Fiat Strada Abarth 130TC
• Acceleration and top-speed comparisons
• Contemporary hot-hatch performance discussion
• Examination of power, drivability and performance figures
• Discussion of the rapidly growing GTI market

The magazine also looks at the commercial side of the GTI boom, with a feature on buying, selling and the extraordinary demand surrounding performance hatchbacks during the period.

Other Featured Cars & Articles

The visible contents show an excellent selection of period performance and enthusiast material, including:

• Volkswagen Golf GTI
• Fiat Strada Abarth 130TC
• Renault 11 Turbo
• Volkswagen Scirocco
• Escort XR3i
• Lancia Delta Turbo
• Peugeot 205 GTI
• Nissan Cherry Turbo
• Toyota MR2
• Maserati Biturbo
• Hyundai Stellar
• Volkswagen Jetta
• VW Microbus
• Renault 11 Turbo
• Citroën BX19RD
• Ford Orion GL Diesel
• Early Fiat Abarth competition cars

Notable Features

The contents page reveals a particularly varied issue, covering far more than the cover story.

The Muscle Factor looks at acceleration times and top speeds and discusses the relationship between quoted performance, power and real-world drivability.

Best Of The Rest brings together a selection of sporting cars including Escort XR3i, Lancia Delta Turbo, Peugeot 205 GTI and Nissan Cherry Turbo.

There is also coverage of the Toyota MR2, described as a mid-engined sports car representing a significant new direction in Japanese performance-car design.

Other articles include:

• Renault turbo-engine development
• Renault 11 Turbo
• Volkswagen Microbus performance conversion
• Ford Transit promotional/racing project
• Microlight aviation feature
• Ramaro show car
• Traction Avant journey to Paris
• Historical motoring from 1926–1935
• Volkswagen Golf diesel comparison
• Early Fiat Abarth competition-car history
• Electronic dashboard technology and automotive electronics

For collectors interested in the emergence of the 1980s hot hatch, this is a particularly relevant period issue.

Issue Details

Publication: Car Magazine
Date: September 1984
Original UK Price: £1.00
Main Feature: Exploding The Golf GTI Myth
Primary Theme: Volkswagen Golf GTI & 1980s performance hatchbacks
SKU: 1526

Condition

This is an original 1984 magazine and shows genuine age and handling wear.

From the supplied photographs, visible condition points include:

• Noticeable general surface rubbing and fine scratches to the front cover
• Light scuffing associated with storage and handling
• Wear along the spine
• Small marks and rubbing around the cover edges
• Lower edge shows some wear and light creasing
• Lower-left corner has visible rubbing / wear
• Lower-right corner has some edge and corner wear
• Minor corner softening
• Light age-related marks
• Internal pages appear complete and securely held in the photographed section
• Interior printing remains bright, clear and highly readable
• Some natural age toning to page edges may be present

Overall, this is a used vintage collector's copy rather than a mint example, but it remains attractive and highly usable, with the main cover artwork, photographs and articles displaying well.

Please inspect all supplied photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description.

Original Extras / Inserts

This listing is for the magazine and only the contents/items actually shown in the photographs.

Any promotional gifts, supplements, cards, stickers, vouchers, posters, loose inserts or other items that may originally have accompanied this issue but are not shown with this copy are no longer present and are not included.

Packaging

For UK orders, the magazine will be carefully packed in a hardback envelope to help protect the covers, pages, spine and corners from bending or creasing during transit.

For international orders, it will be securely packed in a cardboard mail-size box, providing additional protection for the longer journey.

SKU 1526