Corgi 1/43 Volkswagen Golf MkI GTI, Inari Silver Diecast Car Model

The Golf modelled was ordered from VW main agents Jack Barclay European, York Road, Battersea, London, in the rare special-order colour of Inari Silver, and was first registered in June 1981. The current owner, Essex-based Gareth Allcock, received it as a 40th Birthday gift from his mother, Pat Allcock, in 2011. Gareth had always wanted a Mk1 Golf GTI but didn’t initially realise how rare Inari Silver is.

He’d bought it from a private owner in Haverhill, knowing it was in a poor state, and immediately set about refurbishing it, carrying out numerous jobs but keeping it to factory specification. Unfortunately, four years later his circumstances changed, and he was forced to sell it. It was purchased by Wales-based Wayne Thomas who had the car modified by VW specialists, Crazy Quiff’s Mk1 Golf Parts Emporium, who are based in Oxfordshire.

They kept the standard look but stripped and repainted the engine bay, carried out various body repairs and then fitted a 2-litre 16V engine from a Mk3 Golf GTI as well as larger brakes, coil-over suspension, polybushes and numerous other modifications to cope with the increase in power. In 2019 Wayne decided to sell the car and advertised it.

Gareth spotted the advert, immediately recognised it as the car he’d regretted selling, and was pleased to be able to buy this very special car back, albeit for a larger sum of money than he’d sold it for!