What in the absolute hell is this thing?! I might be a magnet for the weird and strange, but this 1979 VW Rabbit might be the weirdest and strangest thing I’ve come across yet. At first glance, all I can think of is that there was a Gambler rally somewhere and this was the recce car for some rough-and-tumble trail. Or maybe someone wanted Fiero performance without the Fiero attached. I don’t know, but either way, let’s check out the oddball that the Internet coughed up and left on my computer’s desktop…
The Rabbit was a re-named VW Golf and was supposed to be the replacement for the Volkswagen Beetle. It debuted in 1974, a clean-sheet approach to replacing the iconic Beetle that saw VW reach out to Giorgetto Giugiaro and Italdesign after a series of concept studies that dated back to the early 1950s failed to really capture any kind of traction. A front-drive hatchback, the Golf/Rabbit gave birth to the hot hatch with the GTI model, the high-MPG diesel hatch, the front-drive ute bodystyle, and very nearly the long-wheelbase front-drive taxicab, courtesy of work that Checker Motors and Wayne Corporation were testing out. 
The GTI might have had a sporting reputation, but this particular Rabbit is beyond sporting. This is a VW purists’ nightmare. This is an HOA nightmare. This is Roadkill-level insanity, in no possible way legal for street use without some changes, and potentially hazardous for your health. The powertrain is “a 3.8 turbocharged GM engine” mounted mid-ship with the turbocharger and intercooler sticking into the breeze higher than an upturned middle finger. Do you like the idea of rolling around in Mad Max’s sister’s convertible?
Rip out that GM POS and switch it for the 5 liter V8 from the Porsche 928 then make it suitable for street driving as its so foul it is strangely beautiful!
Said the blind man to his deaf daughter…
Boy, you must be rolling in money to be suggesting anything Porsche.
Living in NJ one might think we are built up from NY state to the Delaware bay…you’d be wrong. We have thousands of acres of undeveloped forests, “the pine barrens” from mid-state South. Off roading is big deal especially among young people… I was once one. MY POINT…why do the police allow so many Jeeps, trucks and “abortions” like the above run WITHOUT FENDERS!!! Fenders keep aggressive off road tires from kicking up windshield/ headlight shattering stones. I’ve politely as police this and get the “stink eye”…as in “move along sir”…
You can p%ss in the streets in Cali these days; what’s a little rock chip? This heap wouldn’t make it to the Nevada border anyway, so yer safe in Yankeeland.
You have seen an F1 race, right? If not look up some crash footage and look closely at how quickly the wheels climb over each other. While a car wouldn’t climb on the tire, a crossover or bigger would launch its front end into the air causing major issues. Fenders are not just there to keep stones from flying, they are there to keep you from going airborne.
Since this is for sale out of California I’m guessing that this rolling abortion was built for the Mad Max / Burning Man festivals.
Like it. Build on
Someone built a big boy version of their 3rd grade bookcover drawing. Not my drawing, but I get it.