James May has bought the coolest hot hatch ever made

James May has bought the coolest hot hatch ever made

July 15, 2026



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James May discusses taking up a hobby, how he knew he could never have the money, the clothes or the connections to be upwardly mobile in the 80s and how he’s finally found closure.

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View Comments (30)

  2. I had one (albeit a few years older second hand) same interior trim and also white. 8Valve and a sunroof!. great fun to throw around. TOP TIP. get yourself a spare clutch cable, complete with the rubber fob type thingy that goes on the far end to pull the lever down in the engine bay. Also a throttle cable and keep both in the car. … ask me why…. yep, changed both on the street,,, luckily I knew having raced MK1s with same set up. .

  3. It's not got 16v, and it's not even got big bumpers. Then you have the huge problem of it not being a lancia delta integrale which is far cooler than any vw ever made. It's certainly NOT the coolest version of a golf, and it's certainly not the coolest hot hatch ever made…

  4. فوق العادست من هنوز هم وقتی قسمت‌هایی از برنامه تاپ گیر یا گرند تور رو میبینم لذت میبرم تو جهان مثل شما ۳ نفر نیست و نخواهد بود

  7. i cant believe james owns that car for the sole reason being the dash board is covered with dust that looks like it hasnt been cleaned in a year

  8. Original cars, such as this, are my thing. People who modify cars need a good talking to. Lovely to see this gorgeous example and a very evocative story. As usual, a fantastic video from May, Brown, and Eve.

  15. James, was this the Mitre in Penge? It's an unusual name, I used to frequent it in 1984 with a friend that did the Friday disco. His name is Carl.

  21. There's a red VW Golf Mk II GTI that sometimes appears next to the trail I walk on. I'm not even that into red cars, but every time it shows up, it definitely catches my eye and makes me pause longer than I want to.

    Loved the story about The Mitre… People who don't have the guts shouldn't meet their heroes… working on the first part.

    Editors, good selection of music.

  23. James May during Grand tour "You don't buy an old black and white television set. You don't buy a bakelite telephone. Why would you buy an old car?" Also James May – I bought an old Golf 😂😂😂

  27. Love videos like this I had a MK2 GTI 8v for my second ever car never put a foot wrong, I now have a MK5 GTI Edition 30 and a MK7.5 GTI Performance that how much of an impression the MK2 made on me great cars

  29. To the editor: -Is James Mays planet gin REALLY the channel to have "super-epic" orchestral music on? Like he is climbing mount everest AND saving babies from cancer at the same time? Its a tiny bit tiresome, too. Here`s a suggestion: I think this channel needs some instrumental "light-on-your-feet" country music. It was (after all) just a video about his new old golf mk2 and what James` pub can offer. I mean, its not bad, but its not the siege of Minas Tirith, either:)

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