The Yugo may have long been a punchline here in the States but seeing as today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe GV has been punched out to house, not one, but two Cadillac V8s, maybe it’ll be the one getting the last laugh. Let’s see how serious this crazy car’s price ought to be.
Do you recall the scene in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles where John Candy’s Del Griffith character attempts to bargain for a motel room by offering to trade the manager a Casio wristwatch? Yeah, that didn’t go over too well, and neither did asking $7,250 for the 1987 VW Golf GT we looked at yesterday. That car may have appeared impeccably clean, but with almost 200K on the clock it seemed a little long in the tooth and not special enough to command such an asking. The result was a 68 percent Crack Pipe loss and the realization that we need to close out the week with something a little more… out of the ordinary.
How many engines does your car have? What’s that? Did you say one? Well, let’s just say that’s not trying hard enough.
Today’s 1987 Yugo GV has two engines. Not only that, but those mills are 500 CID Cadillac V8s. Together that’s almost ten-times the displacement of the Yugo’s original 1.3-litre four, and between them, they power all four wheels. Each engine is paired with a three-speed THM425 out of an early ‘70s Cadillac Eldorado. That combo—with various V8s—was called by GM the “Unified Powerplant Package” and was shared by the FWD Eldo and Olds Toronado.
Here, those packages are mounted in the Yugo by specially-crafted subframes. The body has been widened by pulling the outer skin back—Hannibal Lecter style—and then filling in the gaps to accommodate the extra-big powerplants. If you want a bit more description and a walk-around tour, you can watch this video of the builder. Be forewarned, however, it’s about 12 minutes long.
The bodywork looks professionally done, and is capped on each end by what appear to be Ford Aerostar bumpers. Chrome-plated Corvette wheels fill the flares with flair and are wrapped in some pretty fat meats.
Overall, the car still looks like a Yugo. It just looks like one that’s made the gym its home and made a career out of flexing. Hell, even the rear license plate sticks out on an extended mount since the bell housing in back pokes through the body panel behind it. The whole thing rides on a custom A-arm suspension with S-10 spindles and coilovers and seems to do alright for itself on the gymkhana.
The interior looks as cheap and cheerful as any Yugo but does get added gauges, seat covers, and, of course, a window to separate the cabin from the big Caddy in the back. The builder notes in the video that the engines are completely separate except for a combined throttle linkage and a shared cooling system. He says that the car will run on either engine or both, but that hot-lapping it with the two running will raise the temp considerably.
You probably could just run it on one mill and do just fine. Each one was factory rated at 480 (gross) horsepower so with all its dogs barking this thing is able to conjure up over 900 ponies. That’s pretty insane. And now, that insanity could be yours.
The car is for all intents and purposes an autocross racer. It does appear to have Indiana plates and even registration tags so streeting it (on one engine, of course) is seemingly also possible. Mileage? Who cares? The ad claims 300 miles since the conversion, but there’s little of the OG Yugo GV left, its former life doesn’t matter all that much.
There has been a smattering of twin-engine cars and trucks produced over the years, some even from major manufacturers. You no doubt remember the Mini Twini and Twini Moke from BMC. Citroën too tried to double their pleasure with a rally-oriented 2CV Sahara that featured engines front and rear. None of those ever made much of an impact, however, leaving boring single-engine cars and trucks to dominate both the street and the track. This Yugo is your chance to set things straight and stand up for the twin-engine minority.
To do so, you’ll need to come up with $25,500. You’ll also need to go on the Facebook Marketplace which is where the seller has unconscionably placed his ad for the car. Seriously people, don’t do that. Facebook Marketplace is just awful for ad presentation. Do yourself a favor and go the Craigslist route if you’re cheap. If you don’t mind spending a few bucks, do Hemmings.
Anyway, off my soapbox and back to the car. This is a very special car built for a very special purpose—to delight both owner and bystander alike. You could race this, or just drive it to the local cars and coffee and be a hero. Do you think that could be worth $25,500?
You decide!
Facebook Marketplace out of Portage, IN, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to an anonymous tipster (you know who you are) for the hookup!
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