1983 Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup Listed Again on Bring a Trailer

A modified 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup with a 1.7-liter engine and manual transmission returns to Bring a Trailer after a previous sale in 2025.

A compact pickup with an unusual backstory has appeared on the Bring a Trailer auction platform: a 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup equipped with a five-speed manual transmission. The vehicle is offered without a reserve price, and the current bid stands at $3,000, with the auction scheduled to end on March 22.

This particular example already has a recent auction history. The current seller purchased the truck on Bring a Trailer in October 2025 for $10,000, initially planning to turn it into a family project. According to the listing, however, a recent health diagnosis forced the owner to abandon those plans and return the vehicle to the market.

The pickup is powered by a 1.7-liter inline-four engine that was factory rated at approximately 74 horsepower and 89 lb-ft of torque. The engine uses Bosch’s mechanical K-Jetronic fuel-injection system and is paired with a five-speed manual transaxle that sends power to the front wheels. For compact pickups of the early 1980s, this layout was unusual: the model was built on the Volkswagen Golf Mk1 platform and combined passenger-car engineering with a utility pickup body.

This example is finished in Diamond Silver Metallic with a Camel-colored leatherette interior. Inside, the truck features bucket seats embroidered with the MK1 logo on the headrests. One of the most eye-catching details is the galaxy-style starlight headliner with LED lighting. The cabin also includes a Bluetooth-capable Kenwood stereo connected to Rockford Fosgate speakers mounted behind the seats.

The truck has received a number of modifications that define its current appearance. These include adjustable front coilovers, rear drop plates with air shocks, 16-inch alloy wheels, aftermarket lighting, LED underglow, and a body-color front bumper cover. The rear bumper has been removed. According to the seller, the chassis itself was not altered to achieve the lowered stance.

A Carfax report indicates no recorded accidents or damage since the first entry in 1992. However, the report does note a mileage inconsistency recorded in 2010, and the vehicle received Exceeds Mechanical Limits titles in 2015 and 2016. The odometer stopped at around 41,000 miles, leaving the total mileage unknown.

Several mechanical details are also disclosed in the listing. The battery was replaced in April 2025, though the seller notes that the alternator is weak and may soon require replacement. The heater blower motor does not function, the coolant temperature gauge occasionally sticks, and the clock in the instrument cluster is also inoperative.

The Rabbit Pickup itself occupies an unusual place in Volkswagen’s history. Based on the first-generation Golf, it was produced in North America in the late 1970s and early 1980s at Volkswagen’s Pennsylvania plant. The model represented an attempt to combine the practicality of a pickup with the compact architecture and driving characteristics of a passenger car. The concept later evolved into what became the Volkswagen Caddy line.

From an auction perspective, the current listing is also notable because the same vehicle returns to the same platform only a few months after its previous sale. Situations like this provide a rare opportunity to observe how the market responds to the same car at different moments in time—especially when it is offered again with no reserve.