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The original Thunder Bunny was built by Bill Neumann, founder of Neuspeed, back in 1981. At the time, the Volkswagen GTI wasn't sold in the United States and Neumann was so eager for its arrival stateside that he decided to build his own. Thus, the original Thunder Bunny was born. It was extremely well received for its punch and practicality, and the next year VW began selling the GTI here in the States. Coincidence? We think not.

Some 25 years later, VW has teamed up with Neuspeed to commemorate the original car with the Thunder Bunny concept shown yesterday at the SEMA show. The Thunder Bunny concept adds a turbo to the Rabbit's torquey 2.5-liter, inline five-cylinder engine that increases power from 150 to 225 horsepower. A new front fascia has been grafted on the front and the whole car has been dipped in candy white paint with "topographical" graphics that "blink" on and off depending on the angle at which the car is viewed. Shocks from Bilstein, bunny-bedecked brakes from Brembo and gold-painted forged alloy wheels round out the hardware upgrades to the modern day Thunder Bunny.

Along with the R GTI, the Thunder Bunny is another compelling iteration of the Rabbit that could make a place for itself in the market. Considering how many versions of the Ford Mustang are on the market, one could easily imagine a different Rabbit for every day of the week.

There are more live shots, press pics and VW's full Thunder Bunny press release after the jump

Continue reading SEMA: VW hops to it with Thunder Bunny concept

SEMA: VW hops to it with Thunder Bunny concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Nov 2006 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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