subject: Cars of the 80's [print this page] In an era that produced some interesting cars, few of them could be called subtle. This article takes a look at some of the most memorable cars form the 80's.
A decade where greed was good and excess was equally as important; the 80's produced some cars that will never be forgotten. A decade where people were obsessed with style, it began with the question, "Who shot JR?" and ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall. The vast majority of 80's cars were designed using set-squares and were surprisingly OK. Here's a look at some of the top cars from the 1980's:
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
In the 80's many of the cars seemed to have big wings and the Sierra RS Cosworth was no different. The Sierra RS Cosworth was a super saloon with a 2.0-litre DOCH four cylinder and a Garrett turbocharger that produced 204bhp that was fed to the rear wheels. Just over 6,000 of these amazing cars were produced until the 224bhp RS500 special edition was released[1].
Peugeot 205 GTI
In 1984 the 205 GTI pocket rocket' was introduced, a 1.6-litre 105bhp four cylinder which doesn't sound much but was plenty, especially in such a lightweight body. The 205 GTI was good to those who could handle it, however, it tended to be a little nasty with lift off oversteer sending many Pugs off the road backwards. Another version was released, a 1.9-litre 130bhp model that had disk brakes all-round. Today there are still quite a few 205s available, and you can expect to pay anything from a couple of hundred quid for a heap up to 3,500 for a mint example[2].
VW Golf MKII GTI
A discreetly powerful car, the Golf MKII GTI had a 1.8-litre four cylinder engine with twin headlights and a red-rimmed grill. Popular with those that were of a good social standing, the MKII GTI offered superb handling with great feedback through the wheel[3]. Extremely sought after today, you can expect to pay decent money for a good example of this 80's classic as well as the car insurance to go with it.
Ferrari Testarossa
A low and wide car, the Testarossa was given the nickname, "redhead" because of its red-painted cylinder heads. With a 4.9-litre 390bhp flat-12 engine, the Testarossa was a unique car, with its engine being mounted over its gearbox making its handling tricky. Over 10,000 of these wonderful cars were built although there were a few revisions to its production between 1984 and 1996[4].
[1] Motorbase (2008). Ford Sierra RS Cosworth. http://www.motorbase.com/vehicle/by-id/-708779381/
[3] Volkswagen News (2010). 1975 2008: The History of the Golf GTI. http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/volkswagen-world/news/item/89
[4] Classic and Performance Car (2010). FERRARI Testarossa. http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/front_website/octane_interact/carspecs.php/?see=157
