1995 Volkswagen Corrado Storm

First registered at Northfield VW in Tetbury, Gloucestershire on January 2 1996, this 188bhp Volkswagen Corrado VR6 Storm with a 5-speed manual gearbox is in exceptional condition. Until a year ago it was owned by the same household. Ownership legally had to be transferred between husband and wife in the mid-noughties after he passed away, so it could be reasonably thought of as a two owner car.

Having known of the car for some while in his local area, and being a stalwart Corrado Club member previously, our vendor wrote the owner a letter several years ago saying that if she ever wanted to sell it, he’d be happy to take it off her hands and continue to cherish it. By the time she made contact with him, some while later, he had established a small dealership called German Marques and, on discovering this, she refused to sell him her Corrado, such was her love for the car.

In 2017, the lady also passed away and when the family found his earlier letter, they got in touch and sold it to him. In his ownership, on his trade licence, our vendor has been careful to maintain the (very) full service history by getting it serviced by the local main dealer (see History Highlights). He’s also kept it running, but covered and garaged most of the time and hasn’t added a great many miles during the last four to five years.

He renewed the bonnet linings, replaced the BBS alloys with new-old-stock originals, refurbished the brakes and also went to the trouble of getting some new number plates for the car which recreated the originals from Northfield VW – the car’s supplying dealer.

Lat February the car was bought by an enthusiast who used it on highdays and a pair of summer holidays in 2021. He says:

‘Very little has changed on the car since I bought it (via The Market) in February

2021. During the 12 months we added approximately 4,000 Miles (two holidays in

Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland respectively) and it never missed a beat.

‘It’s been fully serviced by the North East's 'go-to man' for Ferraris, the headlights now illuminate the road rather than bird's nests in the trees, and it was machine polished recently and always stored inside a domestic garage or storage Unit. I now have the opportunity to buy an ex-works Lancia rally car, so, sadly, the VW has to go’.

The Mystic Blue paint is a pearl effect coating and looks remarkably strong for a 26 year old car. There are a handful of tiny stone chips on the nose as you might expect, buty the recent machine polishing of the paintwork means it gleams with a sheen that belies its 26 years.

Fittings and trim around the car are intact and in good order too, with the active boot-spoiler raising and lowering as it should.

The car sits on original-specification 15-inch BBS Solitude alloys, which were replaced with genuine VW parts in 2017 along with new carbon centre caps. The car is fitted with matching Toyo Proxes high performance tyres, which date from 2016 onwards.

The interior is the original black leather, with heated sports front seats and leather steering wheel. The driver’s seat is lightly creased and buttock-polished and there’s a little wear on the side bolster but elsewhere the seating, door trims and dash appear in excellent order with no discernible damage or wear.

In the centre of the dash is an original equipment Sony radio cassette player with removable fascia which is connected to the factory-fitted six speaker system, integrated neatly into the trim around the cabin.

The black carpeting is clean and undamaged throughout and is further protected by VW rubber floor mats front and rear. Up above the light-coloured headlining clean and taut.

VW being creative with their use of space and mindful that a fifth occupant was unlikely, the armrest and bolster between the rear seats neatly house a first aid kit and a warning triangle respectively.

Under the bonnet – which has recent looking insulating linings – the engine bay is very honest looking ¬– tidy and well looked-after, while not pristine. There’s no corrosion of any.

Underneath the car, the floor pans all look solid with good underseal and the wheel arch linings are also in good order. There is surface corrosion on many suspension components and linkages, subframes and engine sump, but nothing untoward.

The tailgate lifts and holds well and the original parcel shelf and its rubber stays are present and unmolested. Inside the boot the original carpet and linings are clean and in good order. Beneath that is the 15-inch space saver spare wheel, which has a Conti tyre fitted. Around it the foam inserts are still present and intact and there is also a tool roll. There are a couple of areas around the boot shut where the paint has become discoloured – but this is probably the liberal application of anti-rust wax by VW.

The Storm has a current MoT valid until December 2022, which it passed without a single advisory; as it did also on the preceding two tests. The history file includes pretty much every annual testing certificate back to late 1998 (when first required) and validates the current very low mileage of 49,609 miles.

The history file also includes numerous invoices for parts and maintenance from marque specialists and main dealers from 2006. It shows recent expenditure and work by the vendor on the overhaul of the brakes – discs, calipers, pads - and the replacement of the rear stub axles and wheel bearings.

The original documents pouch comes with a full set of owner’s manuals and the service booklet which is stamped – mostly by VW main dealers - all the way from pre-delivery inspection through to December 2020:

Dec 1995 - PDI and alarm fitted - Northfield VW Tetbury

Jan 1997 - 3,476 - Northfield VW

Jan 1998 - 6,436 - Northfield VW

Dec 1998 - 9,958 - Northfield VW

Dec 1999 - 13,216 - Bramall VW Cheltenham

Dec 2000 - 16,267 - Bramall VW

Dec 2001 - 19,839 - Bramall VW

Dec 2002 - 23,640 - Bramall VW

Dec 2003 - 26,723 - Bramall VW

Dec 2005 - 34,754 - Bramall VW

Dec 2006 - 36,928 - Cheltenham VW

Dec 2007 - 39,217 - Cheltenham VW

Dec 2008 - 39,818 - Cheltenham VW

Dec 2009 - 40,466 - Cheltenham VW

Nov 2010 - 41,234 - Challenge Motors (VAG Specialist) Cheltenham

Nov 2011 - 41,965 - Challenge Motors

Nov 2012 - 42,561 - Challenge Motors

Nov 2013 - 43,098 - Challenge Motors

Dec 2014 - 43,627 - Challenge Motors

Dec 2015 - 44,125 - Challenge Motors

Nov 2016 - 44,867 - Challenge Motors

Dec 2017 - 45,082 - Cheltenham VW

Dec 2018 - 45,272 - Cheltenham VW

Dec 2019 - 45,307 - Cheltenham VW

Dec 2020 - 45,365 - Cheltenham VW

There’s also a receipt for a new battery bought this March.

The car also comes with two sets of keys and fobs.

This Corrado VR6 Storm is among the best examples of its type. It’s totally standard and unmolested – not lowered or chipped or otherwise modified – and therefore has originality by the bucket load. It’s in a great condition and has one of the fullest of full service histories we’ve ever seen, also backing up the low mileage - very low for a 26 year old car.

Everything works as it should and the vendor reports the car drives amazingly well. The acceleration is no less impressive now than it was in the nineties and even among today’s hot hatches it feels lightning quick. Is there a better example out there? We doubt it.

Our estimate for this car Is £20,000 - £25,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, within government guidelines of course. The car is located at our Abingdon headquarters; we are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’