It's the battle of 1986: The best Shelby "Goes Like Hell" Dodge extant or a four-wheel-drive Volkswagen Vanagon powered by a flat six from a Porsche 911. Both of these awesome rides popped up in our inbox this morning, thanks to our favorite automotive classifieds site, Bring A Trailer. Argument ensued, with good cases made for both.
The Shelby Dodge is, of course, based on the Omni econobox. But with a turbocharged 2.2-liter four making 175 horsepower and a curb weight around 2,200 pounds, the GLHS was a real performance car. With a bit of tuning, the turbo Dodge engines were capable of topping 200 hp; this in an era in which V8 Ford Mustang GT's were barely pumping out 200 horses. Given that only 500 Shelby GLHS's were built, we've got to imagine you'd be hard-pressed to find a better example than this one, claimed to have just 6,600 miles on the odo. It's for sale by a Michigan dealer on eBay.
The Vanagon is the sort of project we all dream of undertaking in our backyards. With a 3.2-liter, air-cooled six pulled from an '89 911, we don't imagine this Syncro will have any problems making it up any mountain passes. Dumping the VW wasserboxer is a favorite Vanagon owner pastime, and given the historic relationship between the companies, we think it's only right to source Porsche power rather than the more common Subaru engine swap. The Syncro is for sale on TheSamba.com.
So help us resolve the Autoblog Staff Argument of the Day and vote in our poll, and click on the galleries below to see lots of photos of these two sweet vehicles.
The Shelby Dodge is, of course, based on the Omni econobox. But with a turbocharged 2.2-liter four making 175 horsepower and a curb weight around 2,200 pounds, the GLHS was a real performance car. With a bit of tuning, the turbo Dodge engines were capable of topping 200 hp; this in an era in which V8 Ford Mustang GT's were barely pumping out 200 horses. Given that only 500 Shelby GLHS's were built, we've got to imagine you'd be hard-pressed to find a better example than this one, claimed to have just 6,600 miles on the odo. It's for sale by a Michigan dealer on eBay.
The Vanagon is the sort of project we all dream of undertaking in our backyards. With a 3.2-liter, air-cooled six pulled from an '89 911, we don't imagine this Syncro will have any problems making it up any mountain passes. Dumping the VW wasserboxer is a favorite Vanagon owner pastime, and given the historic relationship between the companies, we think it's only right to source Porsche power rather than the more common Subaru engine swap. The Syncro is for sale on TheSamba.com.
So help us resolve the Autoblog Staff Argument of the Day and vote in our poll, and click on the galleries below to see lots of photos of these two sweet vehicles.
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