The body kit included large bumper sections with air vents, small side skirts, and a big wing on the back. The design of the body kit was seemingly inspired by the China-only Volkswagen Bora R.
The wheels were quite special, gold colored, with a twin-7-spoke design. The brake discs were a little rusty.
The interior was pretty much as standard, except for the gear lever knob. The owner also added two seats of seat covers on each seat. First, a set of black covers, covering the entire seat. Then a seat of beige-white covers, covering only the top. The passenger seat has another purple cover.
Same here, so many covers, plus a warning triangle.
The fourth-generation Volkswagen Bora was manufactured in China by the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture. Production started in 2001 and ended in 2008, with a facelift in 2006. Our body-kitted Bora is a pre-facelift example. It was available with 1.6, 1.8, and 1.8 turbocharged engines.
That’s a big wing! Body kits like this were very popular in China in the early 2000s. There was an entire body-kit subculture. Most of the kits were sold and installed by small car-modification shops at car markets. I have been to dozens of those markets, always good fun, with parts everywhere, loud music, oil on the ground, and everybody was happily smoking.
The famous black license plates were issued to foreign-owned companies from the 1980s to the mid-’00s. These companies could buy a car locally, or import one. There were no limits on the number of cars, price, or engine type. The numbering started at 京A·00001, and then up. So the lower the number the older the vehicle. Any black plate beginning with 京A·0 or 京A·1 is considered ultra rare. I know, I had one too! This Bora has 京A·25633, so that’s pretty old.
Sadly, the Bora seemed abandoned, covered with a thick layer of dust. But it wasn’t beyond salvation. With a bit of work, it could be back on the road, if you really wanted it to be.