Yahoo News 12K-Mile 1986 Volkswagen Jetta GLI For Sale on Bring a Trailer
The Jetta GLi was the first German sports sedan for many a young driver.
This one has just 12K miles on the odometer and some rare options.
It's a true time warp classic.
With the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta just launched, Volkswagen has dropped the manual transmission from the standard car, but adding a three-letter suffix—GLI—to your VW sedan still gets you a six-speed stick and three pedals. It's a fitting move, as for decades the GLI has been the everyman's German sports sedan. You might have dreamed of a BMW or an Audi, but with the Jetta GLI, you could still get behind the wheel of something satisfying.
In a lovely bit of serendipity, a stunning and fairly rare example of what made the Jetta GLI such a long-running favorite has just cropped up on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). This 1986 Jetta GLI Wolfsburg Edition boasts the seldom seen Pirelli package on top of the higher-end Wolfsburg package. It comes with 14-inch P-slot alloy wheels and a full leather interior. The latter is something almost never found in a Jetta of this vintage. Moreover, it boasts a jaw-dropping 12K miles on the odometer. It's boxy, magnificent, and part of the heritage behind why VW is keeping the manual sport sedan going.
The second-generation (A2) Jetta was much bigger than the sprightly first-gen cars, and thus more comfortable and useful for U.S. buyers. Production ran from 1984 until 1992, and thanks to a second longer run in the Chinese market, some 1.7 million of these cars were built.
Mass appeal is not uncommon in a Volkswagen product, but there was something special about the Mk2 Jetta. From its launch in 1984, the GLI trim took the sportiness of the GTI hatchback and paired it with four-door practicality and a usefully sized trunk. If you were a pragmatic buyer but still had a pulse, you could have a compact family sedan commuter from Monday to Friday that loved to party down a back road on the weekends.
It wasn't about outright horsepower, with the first 1.8-liter cars making do with just 90 horsepower (this later 1986 version has a whopping 102 horses). Instead, it's the overall driving experience, the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Just like the GTI, the GLI loves to be thrashed through the twisty bits. Owners have at least as much fun as that more expensive BMW, perhaps even more.
If you were looking for a highly collectible example of an early GLI, you've found it. Not only does this Jetta GLI have exceptional mileage, but it also has had a comprehensive list of recent maintenance, including major items like the timing belt. For a Volkswagen fan, it's a must-add to the collection. For someone who just enjoys a great drive, it's the kind of car to turn you into a Volkswagen fan in the first place.
We're glad VW is keeping the stick shift around for the Jetta GLI. It's a great way to pay homage to wonderful machines like this blast from the past.
The auction ends on September 16th.
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