1989 Volkswagen Corrado GT3

History

In 1986 the National Sports Sedan Championship (NASPORT) was created as new competition group within the SCCA GT3 & GT4 classes to offer competitive semi-professional racing in between the club racing and professional levels. This new mini Trans-Am like series provided prize money and excellent racing competition along the West Coast at racetracks such as Sears Point, Laguna Seca, Portland, Buttonwillow, and Thunderhill Park. The championship was determined over a 6-8 race season of highly competitive racing at the National Runoff caliber.

This 1989 Volkswagen Corrado race car was built by Rugh Engineering for the SCCA/NASPORT GT3 series originally bodied as a GTI. The car in its GTI trim won the NASPORT series championship in 1991 driven by David Rugh. Shortly after the 1991 season David was approached by Volkswagen and commissioned to body his championship car to the recently released Corrado model to help with lagging sales in the US market.

In 2004 the Corrado raced in the SCCA National Runoffs at Mid-Ohio and despite qualifying 11th, David Rugh was able to finish the race on the podium in 3rd place. Despite being 10 years from its championship form, the car was extremely competitive in the GT3 class racing against many newer race cars including the dominant Nissan’s of the era. The car continued to remain competitive having set the GT3 class lap record at Portland International Raceway in September 2008 and has won several races in 2020 with its current owner.

Description

The car features a tube-frame chassis and is currently trimmed in its Corrado red fiberglass bodywork. It is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-four paired with a five-speed manual gearbox. Equipment includes adjustable Ohlins coilovers, dual brake master cylinders, an AiM Solo 2 GPS lap timer, a Schroth racing harness, an onboard fire-suppression system, and dual Dell’Orto carburetors. This Corrado race car is located in North Plains Oregon with eight spare wheels, three spare transmissions, Corrado body panel molds, binders of records and build specifications, and SCCA logbooks.

The body panels are mounted over an aluminum tub and a steel tube frame. The exterior is finished in red with black graphics and #6 roundels. Aerodynamic aids include a front lip spoiler, a rear spoiler, and rear window splitters. 15″ turbofan-style wheels with simulated BBS basketweave covers are wrapped in 23×9″ Goodyear Eagle racing slicks that have reportedly been through four heat cycles. 10 Authentic BBS 3-piece racing wheels are included. Equipment includes adjustable Ohlins & KONI coilovers, dual brake master cylinders, and AP Racing brake calipers.

The unique yet deliberate right-hand-drive cockpit, advantageous for the clockwise NASPORT tracks, is equipped with a bolstered carbon fiber-framed seat sourced from a Porsche 935 Turbo, a Schroth harness, Tilton brake and clutch pedals, and GoPro camera mounts on the dash and behind the driver. An AiM Solo 2 GPS lap timer is mounted to the top of the cage ahead of the driver along with a four-panel rear-view mirror assembly. The quick-release steering wheel frames a Stewart-Warner 10k-rpm tachometer, and the flat instrument panel also houses gauges for coolant temperature, oil temperature, oil pressure, exhaust temperature, and fuel level. The seller notes that the fuel-level gauge is inaccurate.

The transverse-mounted 2.0L 8V inline-four, producing 215 hp, features dual Dell’Orto carburetors, an Electromotive engine control system, and a Howe Racing Enterprises aluminum radiator. According to the seller, the engine, top end and gearbox was refreshed approximately two years ago.
Power is delivered to the front wheels through a five-speed Getrag gearbox with an SQS Racing sequential robotic shift mechanism activating the traditional H-pattern shifter as the GT3 rules specify. Owner states that three spare transmissions will accompany the car, including one spooled transaxle, one Quaife transaxle, and one shell. Two videos of the car running in an ICSCC race in June 2020 are included below.

All vehicle descriptions are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. Corrections, and supplemental information, are always welcome. Buyers are responsible for confirming vehicle histories, condition, and authenticity to their own satisfaction prior to purchase. Motorsports Market is not the owner of the vehicle and assumes no liability for errors and omissions.

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