Performance VW -julkaisun November 2021 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

I was at the school gates the other day waiting to pick up my son and started thinking… out of the 30 or so other parents around me, how many others have an interest in cars? I could only really think of one. One! Honestly, what’s wrong with people? Now, while I might look at them and think they’re a bit strange, in reality, we’re the odd ones out… the weird ones that other ‘normal’ folk look down their nose at. “You’re still into cars? How odd. Haven’t you grown out of that, yet?” Because wearing a replica football shirt from your favourite soccer team and spending every weekend down the pub or f**king knitting are far better pastimes? Honestly, I give up. I’m trying not to be judgmental here,…

We couldn’t write an article on Haroon’s car without mentioning the awesome 1:18 scale model he has had custom made of his Mk2. Haroon came across Eduard “Eddy” Cornel who runs MIY Mini Models from his native Romania whilst searching eBay. Haroon enthused “I ended up at the company’s website and was impressed with the breadth of off the shelf model accessories on offer. Eddy is also a 3D printing specialist so, if you can dream it, he can make it. He’s a VW guy too so he totally gets it”. MODEL DUB DETAILS Mk2 GOLF: 1:8 model sourced and customised by MIY Mini Models as below: 3D PRINTED PARTS: RHD dashboard, G60 Recaro front seats, BBS 3-spoke steering wheel, Fischer cassette holder, Feu Orange air freshener, Recaro baby seat,…

“I get so excited when an envelope of shiny new bolts arrives in the post,” laughs Adam Boodle as we stand on a beautiful south coast beach at sun set. It’s a statement like this that lends an insight into the psyche of the Civil Servant from Havant. Particularly throughout lockdown the tales of driveway and garage renovations have kept a number of people functioning and given them something to focus upon and strive for during some pretty isolated times. Not that Adam’s ’73 Squareback is a total COVID car of course, but it has certainly come on leaps and bounds since Boris made us all stay at home. “Honestly, it was never meant to be this nice. I bought it simply as a tidy project back in May 2017…

Some people create events to raise their profiles, while others do it to raise money or massage their egos. Others, well, they’re just in it for the friends! We spoke to Cory Sterling, the founder of VAG Fair, and he was certainly in the latter camp: “The show was started back in 2006 as a way to get all my friends to celebrate my birthday with me, as whenever I tried to get them all together they would find excuses, so what better way than trick them,” he laughed Back in 2006 at that first event just 220 show cars turned up (that’s still a lot of friends – Ed), but fast forward to 2021 and that number has now exceeded 1200. “It's grown every year and has moved around…

I magine, if you will, a garage from Lock, Stock and Two Barrels. A dark, dank, bleak looking railway arch that nobody would ever find, unless they knew it was there. Smoke billows out of the doorway, sirens wail not far from the Elephant and Castle roundabout and the general Friday night vibe is one of a slightly oppressive, gritty, urban underworld setting – one where unless you’re a local ‘face’ you could feel quite intimidated. This is the yard of Darren Francis, a VAG engine swap purveyor, head honcho at VW Enterprises and general three plus decade legend amongst London’s VW scene. Why is he so well known? Let’s put it this way. The Mk1 Golf that’s he’s owned for the best part of 25 years is so well…

On this OEM+ age, bodykits really aren’t so much of a thing anymore. Depending on whichever side of the fence you sit on, that’s either a travesty or a relief. What seems to be much more universally accepted however, is the addition of a subtle lip or two around the place. In the modern age of body styling, it’s much more about adding plastic that wouldn’t look out of place in the manufacturer’s own accessory catalogue. Small, subtle and discreet, there aren’t many Volkswagen motors that don’t look better with a few well thought out bolt-on beautifications. Keen to give their demo car a few visual points of difference over the showroom car, HP Tuners had hooked themselves up with the team at Modify 71, ticking the box marked ‘tasteful’…

Cast your mind back to our December 2014 issue. We featured this Mk2 Golf when it belonged to Simon Delahaye. You can be forgiven for not recognising it though as an awful lot has changed. Current owner, Haroon Sadiq, a 31-year old IT project manager from Ealing, west London bought the car back in March 2019 but his VW story and the journey to this vision of Mk2 perfection starts much earlier. When Haroon was born the current Golf was the MK2. They were ubiquitous and he informed us that all the adults in his family had them and he remembers lusting after the second generation hatchback from a young age: “On my way home from school I used to see a lovely Oak Green modified Mk2, I still remember…

Established UK VWG-tuner, Revo, is proud to announce its all-new Performance Centre located right next to its global R&D centre at its Daventry HQ. Not only can you expect to be welcomed by freshly roasted Colombian coffee and Revo’s trendy range of merchandise (which can be purchased whilst you visit), The Revo Performance Centre (TRPC) also offers a full installation and fitting service on ALL Revo products and software, plus those parts produced by its various tuning partners. Whether you want vehicle tuning (remapping) in the form of stage 1 ECU software to gain instant performance or Revo’s full fat performance pack, RFO wheels or a big brake kit to push your car to its limit, the new facility has got it covered. What it doesn’t offer is general service…

Life is all about compromises. We have to balance our natural impulses to live in the moment with a slightly longer view, because otherwise we’d all die very young. Remember that episode of Futurama when Bender the robot turns into a human and immediately eats, drinks and smokes himself to death? Moderation, that’s the key. So when your partner, spouse or significant other suggests that you need to get a sensible family car, something that’ll be practical for taking the kids to school and lugging garden waste to the tip, you’d better not turn up with a stripped and ’caged TT and a Cheshire cat smile. You’ll suddenly find yourself living in the garden shed. But don’t worry – getting a family car doesn’t mean you have to buy a…

What do you remember most about the 90’s? We know it was a good time! Lairy clothes, iconic movies, loud music and iconic cars! The “Back in the Day” saying is what brings us to the ride you see here. Let’s take a trip back, way back in time, to explore the machine Roberto Gonzalez has built! The man is a product of the “old school”. Hip hop, retro sneakers and classic cars. He is a member of the old head car crew, Jersey Hooligans. Nicknamed “Super Homie”, he is one of those guys who will sit back from the spotlight, but knows what’s good and what’s not. A master technician by trade and a father, brother, and friend, by nature. Some of you may remember a venerable tuning shop,…

ENGINE: AYP 1.8T 20V with KO3s turbo, Vagtronics loom, MAF located on back of intake pipe, standard management with OBD port, Fresh Reflections radiator and intercooler, 20V N/A smooth rocker cover, painted block with custom pipework, pedal box converted to hydraulic, body-coloured servo, EMP turbo-back stainless exhaust system, Odyssey PC680 battery located in boot, battery kill switch, transmission: 5-speed cable change gearbox (02J) painted grey to match rocker cover and pipework CHASSIS: 256mm front brakes, GTI rear brakes, Airlift 3P with slam series struts, 10mm copper hard lines throughout, body-coloured Airlift tank, fully polybushed, BBS E52 Magnesium wheels 17 x 6.5”, zero lip, Atlas grey centres, machined to take BBS Mahle centre caps, Nankang tyres EXTERIOR: Fully stripped and painted in LA3A Mars Red including Raptor underseal to underside and…

I’M A MODEL, TOO You may remember back in the June issue that we introduced you to MIY MINI MODELS, the company that can basically build you an exact, scale-model replica of your modified VW. Well, we couldn’t not mention them again this month, especially since they made an exact copy of this month’s cover car for owner Haroon. To get to see the attention to detail in this model and actually be able to compare it next to the real thing, was simply mind bending. It’s creator, Eddy, is literally a genius. Here you can see exactly what he started with and what he ended up with. Those parts he can’t find, he ‘simply’ 3D prints himself. I know, crazy, right? Well, we’ve done enough praise singing for one…

"The W12 Nardo helped VW establish a new type of engine that would go on to be used in the Bugatti Veyron" Over the years, Volkswagen has debuted a wide range of concept cars that have opened windows into the future of car design, technology and performance. These dream machines are often built to test an idea, a vision and/or showcase features that may one day end up on the road. Some of these groundbreaking vehicles – like the all-new VW ID.4 EV, born from the ID. CROZZ – have made their way to the company’s line-up, though many others were seen once on an auto show floor and then never again. Why do such outlandish ideas exist at all? Each represented a unique vision of the future, and some…

A year ago, I wrote a piece about the fun that could be had on the NC500, a 500+ mile driving holiday around the North coast of Scotland. The focus of the piece being all about seeing friends after the COVID19 restrictions were lifted. I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t alone in thinking that the end was in sight. How naïve we were! Fast forward 12 months and the world had endured so much that, even with only a week to go, we still couldn’t be 100% sure whether a repeat journey would happen this year or who would make it if it did. Thankfully, we all made it and even got a few more people involved. The clever dicks amongst you, and we know there are several, will have…