Back in 1989, all wheel drive was a relatively new technology, and it was significantly clunkier and less refined than you might find in a car on the lot today. The Rallye Golf here was a homologation special, of which 5000 examples were built, featuring box flares, a 1.8-liter supercharged four, and all four wheels driven. While never offered in the U.S. market, due to unfortunate extenuating circumstance, this Rallye Golf found its way to the Team O’Neil school in New Hampshire for a bit of fun in the snow.
Rally champ Tim O’Neil, who founded the rally school, is the owner of this homologation special hot hatch rarity, and he taps team instructor Chris Rennie to go hustle the car around the school’s snowy course. Because this was an early AWD car, it’s got some quirks that make the thing a little strange to drive. With enough time at the steering wheel, however, both drivers come around to figuring out the old tech and how to make it work optimally.
More than anything, it’s always totally cool to see a collectible car with low miles getting thrashed the way it ought to have been. Drive your classics how they were meant to be driven.
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