Next year, Volkswagen will reveal a Golf R production car with 400 or 420 horsepower. However, the famed tuners ABT Sportsline already have one, and it's very, very… brightly colored.
How fast does a 400 horsepower family hatchback go? It takes the 0 to 100 km/h stride in 4.4 seconds, so it's about as fast as a Porsche 911 Carrera S. That's what you're about to see in the following video, together with a hard push to 200 km/h.
The car was presented last month at the Worthersee GTI Meet. This mecca for all things related to the Volkswagen brand is the perfect place to show one of the fastest tuned 2-liter turbos ever made.
The German tuners compare their efforts to those of the 300 Spartan warriors who were all that was needed to stop Xerxes' army. But it wouldn't hurt to have 400 instead. That's why the 2-liter turbo TSI engine of a Golf R has been tuned to have 33% more horsepower.
To achieve this, they introduced a sports catalytic converter. This, together with a new ECU map, allows the Golf R's 2-liter turbo to deliver twice as much power as a Ferrari Dino. The speed limiter has also been removed, which means it will accelerate all the way to 300 km/h (186 mph).
The video just shows how fast the car is, but the colors are impressive as well. ABT chose a theme that combined neon green and carbon fiber to give it a unique glow.
Cosmetic changes to the Golf rocket are subtle, but ABT has installed a height-adjustable sports suspension system that supposedly enhances the handling of the car by lowering the center of gravity. It has helped bring the Golf R not only 45mm (1.7 inches) closer to the ground, but also closer to its 20-inch alloy sports wheels.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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