Volkswagen Rabbit MK5 – Bringing Zippy Fun to Economy Class As small cars trudged ever closer to bland transportation appliances by the mid-2000s, Volkswagen reinforced hatchback credentials staying playful via their fifth-generation Rabbit revival for 2006. Originally sold on its standard fuel-sipping 2.5-liter inline-5 pumping 150 eager horses through the front wheels, the Rabbit eschewed…
Mk2 Ford Focus RS – Bringing Rally Speed to the Street When the Mk2 Ford Focus RS thundered onto the scene in 2009, it shook competitors to the core by translating full-bore rally aggression into a practical hatchback form. Evolving the genre-busting 2004 Focus RS formula, Ford selected the freshly facelifted Focus as a donor…
Porsche 914 Rally Car is not what most motorsports fans associate the Porsche 911 with legendary rally exploits like winning the East African Safaris and Monte Carlo through the 1960s and 70s. But Porsche found earlier rally success in the 1970s with an unexpected upstart model – the modest mid-engine 914. Against formidable machinery, properly…
Jetta Rally car seems an unlikely basis for a competitive rally car. But in the late 1980s, VW’s motorsport engineers managed to morph the affordable front-wheel drive family car into a potent rallycross and Group A rally contender. This unique racing Jetta combined an advanced all-wheel drive powertrain, customized suspension, and weight reduction regimen showing…