This 4,400-Mile VW Jetta Is A Wolfsburg-Built Wormhole Back To 1981

  • A 1981 VW Jetta survivor has cropped up on an internet auction site showing just 4,400 miles on the clock.
  • The 1.6-liter automatic features Diamond Silver metallic paint, a rip-free black vinyl interior and the huge bumpers demanded by US regulations.
  • Bids close on August 5 on the Bring a Trailer website.

Despite SUVs continually eating up sales that would have once gone to traditional mass-market sedans, the VW Jetta survives into the 2025 model year. But how many of those 2025 Jettas will have survived as well as this 1981 car 43 years from now?

We’re guessing almost none, because this Mk1 Jetta doesn’t only look well, it’s covered fewer miles in its near-half century on the planet that most cars have after half a year on the road. The anaolog odometer shows just 4,400 miles (7,080 km).

Related: 2025 VW Jetta And Jetta GLI Get A Hollywood-Worthy Facelift

The Bring a Trailer auction listing doesn’t explain why this Jetta averaged just 100 miles a year since leaving the Wolfsburg factory, only saying that the current owner acquired it around three years ago and has added 100 miles in that time.

It’s painted in Diamond Silver that’s set off by an original set of black wheelarch spats and black stripes along the lower body, two features that appear to be the same as the ones fitted to European-market GTI versions of the Jetta’s hatchback brother, the Golf.

But this being a North American car, it has the huge diving board bumpers that were necessary at the time to meet low-speed impact regulations and four square, sealed beam headlights, again to satisfy US regulators. And to satisfy American consumer tastes, it came with vinyl seats and air conditioning, a combo you wouldn’t find on a Jetta built for the German market.

This 4,400-Mile VW Jetta Is A Wolfsburg-Built Wormhole Back To 1981

Choked by emissions hardware, the fuel-injected 1.6-liter four the ad claims this car has was rated at just 76 hp (77 PS). Most sources seem to say a 1.7 was introduced for 1981, though that capacity hike yielded a total of one extra horsepower, so it’s not like this example’s first owner missed out. Considering the weedy output, the 12-second zero to 60 mph (97 kmh) times period tests recorded for a Jetta with a manual transmission doesn’t sound horrific, though one won’t be anywhere near as spritely since it drives its front wheels through a three-speed automatic gearbox.

The 2025 Jetta is rather more athletic, making either 158 hp (160 PS) in standard guise or 228 hp (231 PS) in sporty GLI trim. The bumpers are neater, too. A new Jetta will set you back $21,995 – how much do you think this one is worth? Drop a comment below before the hammer drops on August 5.

Check out the full Bring a Trailer auction listing here.

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Images: Bring a Trailer


The Auto World

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