The recipe for the vw rabbit gti was simple. Take the lightweight vw Rabbit gti econobox and deck it out with black  trim, red  GTI badges, and a smart interior. Then give it a gutsy  a 90-hp, 1.8-liter four and a taut Teutonic suspension. We sampled the '83 rabbit GTI in November 1982 and came away infatuated. The year 1983 was a rockin' one in America. Michael Jackson, dazzled us with his float-on-the-floor moonwalk. Jennifer Beals donned leg warmers and a cut-up sweatshirt in the chick-flick Flashdance. Quiet Riot's Metal Health became the first heavy-metal album to top the pop charts. Could '83 have been more revolutionary.

Twenty-two years have slipped away since then, and "waiting" is exactly what Volkswagen expects of us, again. According to volkwagon of America, we won't see the fifth-generation GTI shown here for about a year.

When asked what contemporary vehicle volkswagon rabbit gti benchmarked, director of product planning Charlie Waterhouse told us, The benchmark for the original rabbit GTI, the Mark I.Introduced in Europe in 1976, that first-generation Mark I  with its frisky legs, would cause someone to apply the term pocket rocket to a car. So, more important than eclipsing today's best hatchbacks, volkswagons goal with this redone GTI was to recapture the essence of the original. In other words, build a quick, aggressive three-door with a pure, sporty character.

A wolf in sheep's clothing,beef up the engine a little and you have a spectacular automobile that will be usefull to a large audience. with many accessories available to meet every ones needs and desires.

• the small and compact rabbit gti was call a pocket rocket
• the rabbit  were available with a deisel engine
• the rabbit was very inexpensive to maintain
• the rabbit gti was later changed to the golf
• the mark 1 rabbit  gti