3k: The Fastest Geo: 1991 Geo Storm GSi

Imagine pulling up to a Porsche meet in a 918. Your alien-tech wonder rocket reaches 60 mph in 2.2 seconds, shaming 996 GT3s and climate-controlled short-wheelbase 911s alike. You have the fastest Porsche. Now imagine pulling up to a Geo meet – not just any meet, but the “largest Geo Metro/Suzuki Swift meet in the world” this August in Geneva Switzerland Ohio – in the fastest production Geo ever: a car that completes the quarter mile in 17 seconds and tops out at 118 mph. Find this one-owner 1991 Geo Storm GSi for sale in Sacramento, CA for $3,200 via craigslist. 

The Storm was based on the second-generation Isuzu Piazza/Impulse platform. Its 4XE1 four-cylinder engine revved to 7,600 rpm, and was shared with the Impulse and the M100 Lotus Elan. The 1.6-liter variant in this car would be replaced the following year with a 1.8-liter stroker, worth 10 additional power. As it sits, the DOHC 16-valve engine generates 140 horsepower, good for a 0-60 run in the low 8-second range.

Early 1990s buyers regarded these as competitors to the EF Civic Si or B13 Sentra SE-R, so we must do the same. Finding any of those on its original owner, original equipment, and original rust-free body is practically unheard of, especially for this price. A CRX with the same 71,000 miles on its odometer would ask double or triple the price tag of this Geo. This is a good deal for the best version of an okay car.

Replacing your 3-pot Metro with this hot rod will slam you with a 10-mpg penalty. But it will all be worth it when you blow the doors off of all the Geo Prizms at the 8th annual Geopalooza, now less than two months away! It’s technically for Metros only, but Geo owners are an easy-going bunch and should openly welcome a globe-badged sister.

See a faster slow car? Email us at tips@dailyturismo.com.

PhiLOL actually likes the tuna here, but abhors structural rust. Save the manuals.