Here in the U.S. we got Passats, VW’s Syncro AWD system, and the G60 supercharged engine albeit only in the Corrado. What we didn’t get was all those rolled into one, until today! This Passat is that roller, but will its price prove to be how you roll?

Have you ever worn someone else’s underwear? I don’t mean in the kinky fashion, but like in gym class after hitting the showers when you mistakenly slip on your locker room neighbor’s sweaty and microbially alien tightie-whities before - to the horror of all involved - realizing your mistake?

Now that you’ve got that scenario in your head, you’ll be well placed to understand why yesterday’s suffered an overwhelming 84% Crack pipe loss. Well, it was that, the fact that it came with a salvage title and the liklihood - as many of you pointed out - that the cooling system is probably filled with a 50/50 mix of ethylene glycol and bong water that did it.

Okay, so we started the week with a Passat, and dog-diddly-gonit we’re going to go out on one too. That’s because this is just too much an odd bodkin here in the States to let go unacknowledged and critically judged.

The B3 Passat is of course no stranger to these shores. It featured grille-less styling that looked like it was from the future, but was in fact a production evolution of the AUTO 2000 concept car from back in 1981.

This Passat however is said to be one of 250 that made their way to Canada. How do I know that? It was offered on the way back in 2012. There the ad notes a bunch more information, and a higher price!

In the U.S. we never even got one chance to ogle a G-lader four-pot under a Passat’s hood much less 250. That was a fetish which we were sadly denied. We also never got Passats with speedos the primary numbers of which go up to 260… kph.

That G-lader name refers to the snail-like supercharger attached to the 1,781-cc SOHC four which aids it in making a solid - and rocking for the era - 158 bhp and 166 lb-ft of torque. We did get the G60 (which is how it is addressed in polite company) in the Corrado, but nobody really bought those and today I think their existence is only a myth.

The G60 is only one of the tricks up this grey market imported VW’s sleeve. It backs that motor up with a five-speed manual gearbox, which I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest has a phenomenally notchy and vague shifter action that’s a pain in the ass to row.

Behind that is VW’s Syncro AWD system which in the B3 Passat means a tailshaft sprouts from the transverse gearbox in front and shares the love with an independently sprung rear end.

Other crazy features of this Passat are aftermarket smiley face headlamps up front, smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em tail lamps out back, and reclining rear seats. The ad also notes that the car not only gives a Fuch, but gives four of them! Those alloy wheels are apparently wrapped in new rubber.

Both the exterior and interior on this 287,000 kilometer (178,000 mile) car look to be in pretty good shape, the insides seemingly showing less wear and tear than the outside. The ad claims that the car runs like new.

On the Grumpy Cat side of things, the speedo doesn’t work, and the hand brake cable has given up the ghost in solidarity. However, most alarming perhaps is that the ad says the driveshaft to the back wheels needs to be rebuilt. Meh.

At 23 years the car is just under the Feds’ “You Must Be This Old To Legally Ride On This Country” rule, but the seller claims to have a clean Illinois title for what that’s worth. Of course what were interested in is what the car’s worth, and to that end the seller thinks it’s $3,500.

That’s not a chunk of change, and unlike some other grey market imports - or cars sneaked across our northern boarder under the cover of a moonless night - almost all the parts to maintain this Passat are available here.

What’s your take on this Passat G60 Syncro and its $3,500 price? Does that seem like a low-point of entry for so an interesting a car? Or, is that too much green for so much grey market?

You decide!

Chicago , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to DanPadge for the hookup!

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