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Turbo 'Sport'

6K views 35 replies 19 participants last post by  zeusenergy 
#1 ·
Hello,

We are currently looking at buying a 2001 Turbo Sport Beetle. Red, with the 17" wheels, sport badging, etc.

I read somewhere that only 5,000 units were made, and that the Turbo S model took the place of the Sport. Is this correct?

I'll be searching for buyers tips here at newbeetle, but if anyone has some quick tips, feel free to share them. Is the VW Certification worth buying as well? Thanks


George
 
#2 ·
No, the Turbo S did not replace the Sport.

The Sport was basically a limited edition model. Had the 17" sport wheels with the color matched inserts. A Sport badge, and Sport Leather seats.

It has the same 1.8t engine as the other non Turbo S beetles. But with the seats and wheels definitely a nice package.
 
#4 ·
The Sport was sort of an interim model before the Turbo S came out. Just like pdoel said--still mostly the same as other NBs, but it was the first with the K03-Sport turbo(a K03 impeller with a K04 compressor-if I remember correctly)I have a 2001.5 Sport and love it--it came with a 4bar FPR and the K03-Sport turbo...makes for lotsa fun when chipped:) If its mechanically a good car and you're getting a good deal then go for it. I'm not always impressed with "certifications" and whatnot, but maybe others have had good experiences with them.
 
#5 ·
I have a '01 Silver Sport. Bought it new in July of '01.
It has been a great car. They only made them in '01 and '02, at 5000 a year.
The interior is the same that comes in the Turbo-S, but it has solid color seats rather than a 2 color seats.
Another thing not listed yet is the suspension, it came with higher rate springs and has a better driving "feel", I have driven a 'regular' Beetle and I could tell the difference in handeling.
 
#6 ·
It's also worth noting that the "Color Concept" models (such as the Snap Orange one I used to have) were basically Sports, but with additional interior color added. The fact that there was ~5000 of each color Sport and each color of Color Concept made makes them a bit less "limited," I think.

The Color Concept wasn't officially a Sport, but it was practically the same thing. These cars aren't quite as rare as VW would lead you to believe.
 
#10 ·
In 2001 the Sport was available in Black, Silver, Red and Yellow. In 2002, it was only available in Black, Silver and Red (I believe), as the 2002 Double Yellow Color Concept came out shortly after, and I guess VW decided it didn't make sense to do two yellow special editions.

As for the suspension. It's always been a bit confusing as to what the Sports came with. From VW, it came with the stock suspension, but you could get the sport suspension as an accessory. So from the factory, it had the same springs as the other Beetles, but a dealer could swap them out if requested, or, if they wanted to just charge more for the car.

Also, as for the K03s Turbo, this is true. But all NBs since 2001.5 had the K03s, so not really something different it has from other Beetles. Just different than our pre 2001.5 Beetles. :(
 

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#14 ·
If you are looking for a real LE New Beetle then look for a 2000 Reflex Yellow (2,000 made,1.8T only) or even more rare a 2000 Vapor Blue 1.8T. Not sure how many of these were made as a 1.8T with 5 speed manual because you could also get the Vapor Blue as a 2.0L. From what I understand these cars were made and then put up for sale (first come, first serve). So if you just cut everything in half (2,000 Vapor Blue, 1,000 1.8T's, 1,000 2.0L's, 500 Auto 1.8T's, 500 5 speed 1.8T's. Then you could possibly own a car that there was only 500 produced.
 
#15 ·
yelojkt said:
If you are looking for a real LE New Beetle then look for a 2000 Reflex Yellow (2,000 made,1.8T only) or even more rare a 2000 Vapor Blue 1.8T.
Didn't forget about Isotope or Luna Green :)

The Lunas only came in one configuration, IIRC... so I suppose by your test, it wasn't as rare (I think they still made 2,000... and since all of them were the same...)

But if you want something really rare... look for a 1998 Isotope. Only a few were released... the bulk of the LE run were 1999 models.
 
#17 ·
yelojkt said:
Yeah there was also a gold color beetle that I think was really rare. Is that one of the colors you mentioned above. I believe somebody from New York owned one and posted it on the first Org.
Can't think of a "gold" color. Doesn't mean they didn't make one. Could it have been custom paint, though? Either from the factory or from the dealer? That'd be more likely.

Here's a page that lists some of the LE NB's. It's not exhustive... and it's more Euro-centric... but it's an interesting place to look for pics and a little bit more info.
http://www.sebeetles.com/contents.htm
 
#18 ·
Steinola said:
Can't think of a "gold" color. Doesn't mean they didn't make one. Could it have been custom paint, though? Either from the factory or from the dealer? That'd be more likely.

Here's a page that lists some of the LE NB's. It's not exhustive... and it's more Euro-centric... but it's an interesting place to look for pics and a little bit more info.
http://www.sebeetles.com/contents.htm

It's Mojave Beige. Actually, only 250 were made IIRC, including only 2 TDIs (mistakes they all were). Alan from NYC has one, and I think there's another on the org, but I am not sure.

Slug, I'd like to see a picture of the tan interior in one...all the ones I have seen have been black interior, including the red. :)

My ex owned 2 LE NBs as well (2000 Vapor 1.8T 5M and 2003 BLCC 5M), so I'm no stranger to the LE side of things.
 
#23 ·
vwdriver said:
Hello,

We are currently looking at buying a 2001 Turbo Sport Beetle. Red, with the 17" wheels, sport badging, etc.

I read somewhere that only 5,000 units were made, and that the Turbo S model took the place of the Sport. Is this correct?

I'll be searching for buyers tips here at newbeetle, but if anyone has some quick tips, feel free to share them. Is the VW Certification worth buying as well? Thanks


George
My '01 sport silver arrow has the sport seats but are all black. It came with silver inserts in the take 5 wheels. The rear deck badge says "sport".
It also has grey inserts in the doors, grey interior parts for the door cards and rear trim plus lower dash. I wish I had the all black interior and grey inserts for the door cards and grey seat inserts.... But that's just mods for later!:D
I also have the "sport" suspension package, it rides 1/2" lower.
 
#26 ·
Our silver 01 Sport had grey leather sport seats.

The Vapor Blue was an "internet" sale item. Not to be found on dealer lots (new that is).
 
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