Evergreen: Will Young’s old Mk3 Golf GTI is for sale

Then there’s this: a Dragon Green Mk3 Golf GTI once owned by Will Young, now heading to auction with fewer than 47,000 miles on the clock and a rare slice of mid-1990s originality. I mean, check out the sober and sombre interior. It's very 1990s VW.

Going under the hammer at the forthcoming Supercarfest 2026, the 1996 Golf GTI remains refreshingly standard, right down to its original alloy wheels, cloth interior and 2.0-litre eight-valve engine producing a terribly disappointing 115bhp.

Back when every Mk3 GTI was either being lowered into the weeds outside a retail park McDonald’s or fitted with enough blue LEDs to illuminate Swindon from orbit, this one somehow escaped the modded curse. And doesn't it look utterly timeless?

The celebrity ownership story is arguably secondary, although the car does carry a slightly unfortunate footnote. During Young’s reported 20-year ownership, the Golf became briefly famous after he was caught using a mobile phone while driving near his hometown of Calne – a story enthusiastically covered by local press in 2025.

Still, Petrolblog would argue the real appeal here is the specification.

Dragon Green. Grey cloth. Five-speed manual. No massive wheels. No dubious aftermarket bodykit. No ‘show car’ nonsense. Just a lightly warm hatchback from an era when Volkswagen’s GTI badge was losing its lustre. It wouldn't return to form until the launch of the Mk5.

I ran a Candy White Mk3 Golf GTI 8v in the 2000s. Mint condition, five doors, one previous owner. It wasn't a great GTI, but it was a terrific car. Solid, dependable and utterly classless. Not in the slightest bit memorable, so I often forget that I owned one.

Maybe it's me, but I think the styling of the Mk3 has aged remarkably well. An unmodified VR6 in a dark colour would be a nice, functioning alternative to my broken Corrado VR6.

For years the Mk3 has lived in the shadow of the Mk1 and Mk2, dismissed as softer, heavier and less exciting by people who probably haven't driven one in years. But today, an honest, unmodified example feels oddly charming precisely because it’s so unfussy. And this ex-Will Young example just looks... right.

Besides, in Dragon Green, this one remains remarkably Evergreen.

The ex-Will Young Golf heads to auction with Iconic Auctioneers later this month, carrying an estimate of £8,000-£12,000. Which seems high to someone who remembers a time when a Mk3 GTI 8v was worth hundreds, even in great condition. Still, it's probably less than some people spent modifying these in 2004.