The Volkswagen GTI has maintained its status as one of the world’s most desirable hot hatches due to the fact that the German fun to drive car builders have focused on offering the faster Golf as an excellent value right from the beginning when it was nothing more than a stiffer 8 valve VW. Today the Golf GTI is in its sixth generation and it is still a great performance bargain. You will start to see more and more Golf VI GTIs running around the streets of America as the year comes to a close, and just like last year’s model, they will be powered by 2.0 Liter TSI four cylinder engines tuned to produce 207 HP and 207 lb-ft of torque. The old car was able to accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in a spirited 7.2 seconds and still get as much as 31 MPG on the highway, all starting at around $24,000. At that price, sport compact owners will be left with a few more dollars to upgrade their rides.
Unlike the original Rabbit and the various GTIs that came before, squeezing addition ponies out of a modern day turbocharged stratified injection engine doesn’t require getting your hands dirty. There is no longer a need to crack open a valve cover to replace camshafts or splurge on an expensive Shrick manifold. A trick learned with the old 20 valve 1.8T is that with a Volkswagen factory turbocharged vehicle, there is plenty of oomph left to be unlocked inside the brain of the engine. So if a mere 200 HP just isn’t enough for you, and you want your GTI to perform more like the upcoming Golf R, the aftermarket hot rod shop APS has you covered.
The APS Stage 1 engine performance upgrade for the new Golf VI GTI is a simple ECU remap that boosts the turbocharger pressure and tunes the fuel sprayers to precisely make a maximum output 250 HP, while the torque numbers jump signifigantly to 292 lb-ft of twist. The added power drops the GTI’s 0 to 60 MPH time by a full second while raising the car’s top speed to 155 MPH, best of all it shouldn’t cost more than a grand to get installed. One problem that modified Golf IV GTI owners faced was a gearbox that wasn’t up to the additional action, the question begs to be remained as to how tuner friendly VW’s DSG transmissions will be.
These days, there aren’t a lot of advertising tools as powerful as a good commercial, and while some car brands have succeeded in getting their messages to the TV audience across in 30 seconds, other commercials have failed miserably in doing so.
Thankfully, the new two-minute trailer featuring Volkswagen’s two R-Line vehicles – the Scirocco R and the Golf R20 - had us glued to the tube. The trailer mixed outstanding sound editing with a movie-like video featuring two VW test drivers taking the cars out for a spin out on a G-simulator and later on, out on a real track, all the while emphasizing the amount of G-Force the two cars can reach while setting blistering lap after blistering lap on the circuit.
Take the time out to check it out. If you ask us, it’s even worth multiple viewings.
The German automaker Volkswagen has just unveiled the special edition GolfVariant Exclusive at their home motor show in Frankfurt. This is the first model that has been created by the automotive conglomerate’s new “Volkswagen Exclusive” brand and is slated to go on sale sometime this Fall. The Exclusive brand name will be used to move extensively personalized VWs and other specialty vehicles by offering a wide variety of owner specified tailor finished features ranging from upholstery options to paint finishes aimed at pleasing even the pickiest of new car shoppers by offering a more elegant showroom experience.
The new Volkswagen Golf Estate Exclusive will no only but it will give the automaker an upscale Golf, but also adds will ride on a sport tuned suspension that drops the vehicle by 15 mm and closes the fender gap between the body and the Exclusive’s 17 inch alloy wheels and original Volkswagen Exclusive emblems dress up the outside, while the interior gets “Climatronic” (Volkswagen’s automatic climate control system) to help acclimate the passengers, a large panoramic sunroof to open up the estate’s interior and two tone leather wrapped sport seats that are available in a variety of different color combinations.
The 2010 Volkswagen Golf Estate Exclusive will add another reason to take a trip down to your local VW dealership to see what’s new on a regular basis. Hopefully Volkswagen won’t price themselves right out of their target market’s range and as long as Audi doesn’t decide to develop an A3 wagon it looks like the well finished Golf Estate has a strong future with the new brand.
The German automotive conglomerate’s personalization line, Volkswagen Individual, has just revealed the new R-Line package for the new Golf, Scirocco and Passat CC at the Frankfurt Motor Show, all three of which will go on sale later on this Fall.
The sixth generation Golf is upgraded with a set of stylish 17 inch alloy wheels and a sport suspension to make it handle better as well as a set of body colored side skirts and a pair of aggressively redesigned set of bumpers inspired by the new Golf R. Down force is improved with a new rear diffuser integrated into the back bumper and a roof spoiler to finish off the top of the hatch while on the inside a pair of decorative door tread plates wears the R-Line logo. Volkswagen’s newest hot hatch, the Scirocco, benefits from both interior and exterior upgrades as well. The new Scirocco R-Line follows a similar diet as the Golf R-Line, except that the Scirocco’s modifications are based more on improving the vehicle’s appearance as opposed to swapping out the mechanicals underneath.
For the more luxurious end of the Volkswagen R-Line, the Passat CC gets a set of 18 inch wheels, a freshly redesigned front spoiler and lower hanging side skirts to complete the ground effects package, while the interior is upgraded with four special edition kick plates and a leather wrapped multifunction three spoke steering wheel finished off with the R-Line logo.
Volkswagen has just unveiled the Golf R - "the strongest Golf produced". Placed above the Golf GTI in Volkswagen’s lineup at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The new turbocharged Golf R will replace the current hot hatch Golf R32 when it goes on sale at the end of the year.
Under the hood Volkswagen placed a 2.0 Liter engine that delivers 270 HP at 6,000 RPM and sends the new Golf R from 0 to 60 MPH in just 5.7 seconds thanks in part to the car’s all wheel drive system. The time is up from the R32’s 6.5 second 0 to 60 MPH time, while Golf R’s top speed is still limited to 155 MPH.
The exterior the new Golf R features a new set of Talladega wheels and upgraded brakes as well as a more aggressively designed bumper complete with very large air intakes, standard LED strips, a newly designed R logo in chrome on the right side, Bi-Xenon headlights. While the rest of the car benefits from side skirt extensions in body colour and mirror housings painted in high-gloss black.
On the inside, the Golf R is distinguished by newly designed “Top Sport seat system”, leather contrasting with piano paint and chrome, R gearshift knob, carpet floor mats, aluminum door tread plates with R logo, Stainless steel sport pedals as well as an R-specific instrument cluster.
Volkswagen will also unveil the diesel sipping Golf BlueMotion at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The car uses similar common rail TDI technology as the Polo BlueMotion, except it makes a maximum output of 100 HP and 185 lb-ft of torque, it will accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in just 11.3 seconds and has a top speed of 118 MPH while getting 62 MPG.
The German automaker Volkswagen is planning on bringing their most performance based hoot hatch at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. The highly anticipated R20 version of the sixth generation Golf was recently spotted before its debut in four door form wearing black camouflage on the hatch, hood, fenders and general front end. The Golf R20 will be slotted into the VW lineup just above the VW Golf GTI hot hatch and is set to compete with other high performance economy cars like the Ford Focus RS.
As the name suggests, the Golf R20 will be powered by a turbocharged 2.0 Liter four cylinder engine with direct injection and will put out a maximum of 260 HP. Without the added bulk of a V6 and an all wheel drive system, the R20 is a much better handling package than the outgoing R32 and will sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in just 6 seconds and reach an electronically limited top speed of 155 MPH.
Separating the R20 from ordinary Golfs are a set of extended side sills and very large air intakes in the front bumper. The factory tuned Golf will also benefit from a lowered suspension that makes use of different dampers and a new set of springs.
European consumers have a history driving smaller displacement engines due partly to the costly taxes imposed by their governments and the price of fuel across the pond. So it is no surprise that Volkswagen’s 1.4 Liter power plant has been quite a sales success in that market. However there is the problem of less than stellar performance from the TSI four banger as it comes from the factory. That is where the aftermarket comes in to play.
The English tuning house APS Sportec has just come out with a power package for the 1.4 Liter TSI Volkswagen Golf GT that brings output up from 160 HP and 177 lb-ft of torque all the way up to 200 HP and 211 lb-ft of torque with only a stage 1 ECU upgrade. The added power allows the Golf to go from 0 to 60 MPH in just 6.8 seconds, this is quite impressive considering the stock vehicle does the sprint in a much more lackadaisical 8.2 seconds.
One of the best parts of the upgrade is the price. For only £550.00 APS will not only sell you the reprogrammed computer, but also install it and road test the car to make sure that everything is working, as it should. So if you are looking to get some more oomph out of you Golf without breaking the bank, give the boys at APS Sportec a ring and let them turn your TSI powered VW into a truly hot hatch in only a few hours time.
The hot hatch of choice for many is the classic Volkswagen GTI, and for sure this is not the first time you are reading about a tuning program for the popular Golf VI. However it is undeniable that this one is the sexiest examples ever! The aftermarket manufacturer, RDX RaceDesign, is offering complete body kit that significantly reshapes the car’s appearance.
The kit consists of headlight masks, a front spoiler extension, lower hanging side skirts that curve under the car, a rear skirt kit with reshaped valences for the rear end complete with mesh inserts as well as a polyurethane roof spoiler.
If you act quickly RDX RACEDESIGN is offering a special discount to the first tuners to purchase the package.
Now that you have seen what the car can do from the factory, have a look at a modified GTI. After the German aftermarket tuner ABT Sportsline revealed their customization program for the Golf GTI, another hot rodder from the land of the Autobahn, MR CarDesign, decided to have a go at the VW with their own take on the GTI MkVI, upgrading both the vehicle’s straight line performances as well as the car’s handling abilities.
Keeping things simple under the hood, MR Car Design decided to upgrade the factory ECU with a reprogrammed unit that by itself takes the engine from producing 210HP and 206 lb-ft of torque to pump out 260HP and 280 lb-ft of twist. The extra 50 horsepower helps the modified GTI get to 60 MPH from a standing start in just 6.9 seconds, 0.3 seconds quicker than the standard version. The top speed is also increased to 164 MPH, up from the stock vehicle’s 148 MPH top speed. The new sports exhaust helps the GTI to achieve just the right note while dressing up the car’s rear end.
The GTI’s handling is taken to the next level with a fully adjustable set of KW coil-overs that allow the owner to fine tune the shocks and springs to achieve either the perfect ride height or even a 50/50 weight distribution. Power is nothing without control, so MR turned to Stoptech for one of their big red brake kits that ensures this GTI will be able to go from 60 to 0 as well as it goes from 0 to 60 MPH. Finishing off the package are a set of mesh designed Oxigen rims measuring 19 inches in diameter.
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