1985 VW Voyage

About this car

This car is not supposed to be in Canada.  The Fox was imported to Canada between 1987-1992.  I heard about the existence of this 1985 VW Voyage back in 1999 at a Volkswagen show in Pickering, Ontario.  There, a gentleman told me that there was a man in the Toronto area who owned not 1 but 3 VW Voyages!  I was intrigued, but figured I would never see these cars.  My luck changed by chance, when I saw this one at a small meet organized by a tuning shop in Brampton.  One of the new employees there is the owner of this VW Voyage.  Here is the information I was able to gather:

About 7 or 8 of them were brought here in 1985 and early 1986 for VW dealerships to see what the new Fox would look like when it was introduced in the 1987 model year (i.e. late 1986).  The car I saw was a regular production Brazilian VW Voyage, 1985 model year.  It was not a concept car or custom modification.  He actually owns 3 of them!  He has the one pictured which is his daily driver, a 4-door which he is fixing up which will be painted blue, and a 3rd one as a parts car.

The rest of the approximately 8 Voyages are most likely still around.  I have heard from other sources that they are sitting around behind a shop somewhere in the Toronto area.  But you cannot register them for legal road use here.  As best I recall, they included 2 wagons, 3 4-door and 2 or 3 2-door models.

Regarding the multi-coloured paint, he told me that his Voyage was a "practice car" for a VW dealership's body shop, so that they could have hands-on experience with the then-forthcoming Fox.

Comparing this Voyage to a typical Canadian Fox:

• Different hood & fenders to accomodate the different grille and headlights
• Much smaller and lighter bumpers
• No parking lights at the rear
• Exterior rear view mirrors are in a different spot
• No fuel cap door
• Different dashboard and instrument cluster
• Different hood prop rod
• Opening triangle windows in front doors


The steering wheel and VDO gauges were added by the current owner.  The engine is a GTI engine, also swapped in by the current owner.  Same goes for the fog lights.

Here they are...
 

Thanks to Carson for actually taking care of this car, letting me take pictures, and telling me some information!