Volkswagen Golf fans apparently have money to burn, with prices for solid examples of the now classic hot hatch selling for unbelievable sums of money. The latest example is a 2004 Golf R32 with double-digit mileage, which just sold for $104,000 on Bring a Trailer.
There is, of course, irony to the idea that the hot hatch once prized for its ability to give enthusiasts with small budgets a taste of driving excellence is now selling for supercar money. To be fair, though, this R32 is quite clean.
With just 97 miles (156 km) on the odometer, it is doubtless one of the freshest examples on the market. Indeed, in photography posted with the listing, it presents remarkably well, albeit just a tiny bit less than perfectly.
Read: A 1992 VW Golf GTI With 53K Miles Sold For A Staggering $87,000 On Bring A Trailer
Its beautiful Deep Blue Pearl paint and its 18-inch wheels are all in order, and there’s nary a sign of use on the heated König front seats. Even the brushed aluminum trim, the Monsoon audio system and cassette player are all in order.
There is, though, evidence of hazing on the driver-side mirror as well as a ding on the passenger-side of the roof panel. With the car, the buyer was given a replacement pair of headlights, and a replacement grille insert.
Introduced to the U.S. market in 2004, the Golf R32 launched the now well-established, high performance R brand for VW. One step above the GTI in terms of power and luxury, the R32 featured a 24-vavle, DOHC VR6 engine that made 238 hp (177 kW/241 PS) from the factory, which could propel the AWD car to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 6.6 seconds when it was equipped with the six-speed manual, as this one is. When equipped with the dual-clutch transmission, meanwhile, it could complete the sprint in just 6.4 seconds.
This example was first delivered to Jack Daniel’s Motors, in Fairlawn, New Jersey. It was then reportedly sold to another dealer, where it stayed until 2020. That’s when the seller, who presumably couldn’t believe their luck, found it, and kept it until now.
And while it is undoubtedly among the cleanest examples of the well-loved performance car available in the U.S. (if not the world), it’s still hard to reckon with the price it reached in this auction, which is more than three times higher than its list price when new. What do you think? Is this auction house madness, or justifiable for a neo-classic?
