Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup Diesel
Volkswagen stretched the front-wheel-drive Rabbit into a small Pennsylvania-built pickup and paired it with a thrifty 48-hp diesel for the 1980 U.S. model year.
1980 Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel Pickup · Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 4.0
Research pending
A matching completed auction sale has not been verified for this exact year, body, trim, engine, transmission and market.
Joyride shows this gap instead of substituting an asking price, unsold bid or mismatched special vehicle.
More than a set of wheels.
Volkswagen's Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, plant began North American Rabbit production in April 1978. The Rabbit-based pickup reached U.S. buyers as a 1980 model, and Volkswagen records 28,690 sales in its market-debut year. This first-year diesel profile uses the Rabbit's 1,471 cc, 48-hp engine and the five-speed configuration documented by a contemporary comparison. The title is deliberately 1980: surviving manufacturer and period evidence does not support the queued 1979 pickup model-year identity. The exact 1980 diesel cover vehicle is photographed in red that its source describes as likely non-standard, so its color is not evidence of a factory paint offering.
Look a little closer.
Its car-like front-wheel-drive layout left the back free for a cargo bed rated to carry 1,100 pounds; the cover's red paint is likely a later, non-standard color.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
Why the title says 1980, not 1979
Factories often prepare a vehicle before its showroom model year. Here, Volkswagen's own chronicle and the surviving U.S. pickup brochure converge on a 1980 market debut. The 1979 Rabbit Diesel brochure supports the passenger-car engine family, but it does not turn the pickup into a 1979 model. Keeping that distinction visible prevents a production-calendar clue from becoming a false retail identity.
Source: Volkswagen Group · 1973–1981 chronicle ↗A car-shaped answer to a truck job
The Rabbit Pickup retained a transverse engine and front-wheel drive, freeing the rear for a useful cargo bed without a bulky driveshaft. Its 1,100-lb payload showed that a compact unibody could perform real hauling, while the small diesel traded quick acceleration for economy. The cover is an exact 1980 U.S. diesel truck, but its likely non-standard red paint must not be read as a factory-color claim.
Source: Car and Driver · 1980 mini-truck comparison ↗Where these facts come from
- Volkswagen Group · 1973–1981 chronicle
- Volkswagen · 1980 Rabbit Pickup brochure archive
- Volkswagen · 1979 Rabbit Diesel brochure scan
- Car and Driver · 1980 mini-truck comparison
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed 2026-10-03.