LOOP LOOP! In praise of the Volkswagen Lupo.

A trio of Lupos in what is known as a Lupo Troupe

The Volkswagen Lupo is an underappreciated car, especially in Ireland, where few were sold (relative to the popularity of Polos and Golfs) and where they are mostly associated with old ladies. I want to banish this myth of Lupo-granny-dom. They are an excellent car, vastly cooler than their Micra, Fiesta, and Ka counterparts. They zoom, they come in hilarious colours, they have giant windows - not like these new-fangled cars with their small windows, and, they have round headlights and round front indicator lights giving them the appearance of having impish faces. They are in short, the craic.

In Ireland they are most commonly found with one litre engines, but in their German homeland you can find 1.4 and even 1.6 GTI models. The thought of a 1.6 GTI Lupo is mildly terrifying. I can only presume it goes like a rocket and is apparently regarded as a true successor to the Mk1 Golf, one of the first true 'hot hatches'. As they were cruelly done away with in 2005, after only six years in production, there are not that many around. Succeeded by the bland and uninspiring Fox, Lupos are gradually attaining cult status, with Lupo owners clubs around the world, mainly filled with crazy people who pimp their Lupos and even race them. Specualtion is rife that VW are to launch a new Lupo this summer, slightly bigger with very low emissions. Few photos are available and so far it's a bit strange looking...

2007 prototype

LOOP LOOP LOOP LOOP!

1999 GTI  model