Pentafulvenes undergo a facile [6+ 3] cycloaddition with 3-oxidopyrylium betaine, generated from the corresponding pyranulose acetate, leading to the formation of 5–8 fused oxabridged cyclooctanoids. The product is formed by a [6+ 3] cycloaddition, followed by a 1, 5-hydrogen shift of the initially formed [6+ 3] adduct. The reaction was found to be general and a number of fulvenes with a wide range of substituents at the exocyclic double bond, ...