Corrado Campaign: JMR Sunset Photo Shoot

My phone rang. It was John Mitchell with news that the Corrado Campaign they'd been restoring when we visited earlier in the year was finished. He suggested we might like to photograph it and how could we refuse?!!

A really rare VW

The VW Corrado Campaign is a rare beast and only 6 were ever made, with just 4 surviving today. Based on the first of the VR6 models launched in 1992, they were all finished in Dusty Mauve Metallic with contrasting brick leather interior. The special edition Corrado Campaign model was built as a prize as part of a dealer incentive to sell the most Karmann produced vehicles. This particular car was awarded to the Dovercourt dealership in St. John's Wood and still features its original tax disc in the window.

Red Leather Interior? Surely not...

I quiz owner James Poore as to how he became the custodian of such a cherished coupe. He reveals "I'd previously owned Golf GTIs and always regretted selling my Corrado Storm. I saw it in a classified advert; it was poorly listed but the advert mentioned a red leather interior and I thought no, surely not." I'm already gripped by this tale and James continues "I gave them a call and went to view the car almost immediately. I kept my cool and managed to bag it for £3500."

Last time we saw this car

It had been 2 years since owner James had dropped the keys off at JMR. Coincidently it was almost 16 years to the day since he'd handed over the cash and run, before the previous owner changed their mind! 4 months ago James' car was sat in the corner of John's workshop minus glass and engine; the interior far from finished. Regardless of the rarity value associated with this vehicle, it was fantastic for James to see the fruits of their labour finally rolling on the road.

Tight schedule

With John and Ben busy in the run-up to their Christmas break we settled on a sunset meet up and kept everything crossed for a fine forecast. To add to the fun John said he'd bring his 500bhp, 4WD Corrado out to play, something we'd missed out on when we visited previously.

Littlehampton Harbour

After passing on the opportunity to pay the local council an 'administration charge' to park on the promenade, we picked the westerly side of Littlehampton Harbour to try and catch the sun setting. Whilst this presented us with a couple of nice snaps, the through traffic from dog walkers and beach cafe customers were already causing issues with Lee's long exposure shots, and we'd only been there a short while.

Let's go somewhere quieter...

With a bit of time to spare, we took ourselves to a spot 5 minutes down the road and as with so many of our shoots, we got lucky. This relatively peaceful corner of Ford Industrial Estate was perfect for what we needed.

Corrados at dusk

Despite the close to freezing temperatures, we were treated to a rather lovely sunset and Lee took full advantage of it with both cars looking stunning in the warm glow. With the cars parked side by side, you can see how extreme John's version is. From the big wheel arches and deeper bumpers and side skirts to the more subtle Audi A6 handles grafted into the door (a late '90s /early '00s mod that deals with the often troublesome Corrado door handles that are fitted as standard).

A closer look around the Corrado Campaign

With the money shots in the bank, it was time to pay the star of the show a little more attention. JMR have done a beautiful job recommissioning this car. The VR6 engine has been treated to a full stripdown and rebuild. The body shell has benefitted from a fresh coat of paint. The Corrado interior has been sympathetically restored with a number of holes from a previous handsfree kit magically erased and the gear knob recovered to bring it in line with the rest of the unusual trim. Underneath the chassis components have been powder coated and all Corrado bushes have been renewed. The KW Corrado Coilover suspension gives the perfect OEM+ stance to sit the coupe over the Campaign only 6.5 x15" Monte Carlo wheels. James proudly displays his certificates of authenticity on the parcel shelf for us to see. He's not even driven the car yet, Ben has been behind the wheel for today's shoot. James is due to take it home tomorrow.

The Beast comes out after dark!

With the sky getting darker by the minute we make a trip to another location to try out a few more ideas. A large concrete wall offers a great industrial backdrop to capture the coupe's side profile. Our thanks to John, Ben and James for bringing their cars along and letting Lee work his magic with the camera. If you missed our previous article about JMR you can read it here. Need Corrado Parts? Shop online here. Fancy owning one yourself? Read our Corrado buyers guide. Lastly, we hear rumour this Campaign may be up for sale if the right offer is made. Get in touch with us and we'll put you onto James to discuss the deal further, should you be interested. Andy