About a decade ago, I made a friend that was crazy about all things Volkswagen. His daily driver was an Audi A4, but he owned two VWs: an old Polo 6N and a Golf MK2. And both of these cars were hiding VR6 engines under their hoods. It was then that I first came in contact with the cult following of this German engineering marvel. And in later years, I've seen numerous examples of fast, project cars using this power unit.
My friend was a big drag racing fan who often took photos at international events. I joined his team then and traveled west for one of the biggest races in a 500-mile (804 km) radius. The venue was an old airport next to a city called Kiskunlachaza. Although I had been following NHRA events and races at Santa Pod before, I had never witnessed this kind of thing live. So I was blown away by some of the Pro cars onsite.
Fast forward to 2014, I had already moved to professional drifting and hadn't seen a drag racing event in a while. But I was happy to be in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway grandstands for a small gathering of funny cars and the like. Still, nine years have passed since I have seen some quarter-mile (402 meters) action, so the thought of returning to Kiskunlachaza was quite exciting.
I quickly discovered that the same organizer was in charge of the event, and it took a little time to plan a cross-country trip with my new team. As I was trying to figure out the focus points for the weekend, I came across a picture of a green Volkswagen Golf MK2 via the organizer's Facebook page. Judging by its tire setup alone, it became clear that this would be one of the strongest competitors onsite.
Even going into the event, the TTK Turbotechnik Golf MK2 was one of the fastest Volkswagens on Planet Earth: 7.9 seconds down the quarter-mile, with a trap speed of 183.926 mph (296 kph). To put things into perspective, a brand new Golf R will need about 12.5 seconds to cross the same finish line. A Bugatti Chiron will do the job in 9.6 seconds, while the 1,914 horsepower Rimac Nevera can reduce those numbers to around 8.6 seconds.
So I was determined to learn more about this ambitious little project and its driver/owner. That's how I met up with Markus and Stefan Welte, two brothers working together on this common dream since day one. Their first official challenge took place in Finsterwald some seven years ago. They opted for a VR6 solution since day one, and the car was already good enough for a 9.2-second pass back then.
By 2019, they managed to shave off almost another full second. With an ET of 8.224 and a trap speed of 152.236 mph (245 kph), their little project had become the fastest Golf MK2 on Earth. But there's always room for improvement so they couldn't settle for that. The first 7-second pass happened in April of 2022, and one can only imagine how ecstatic the team was to reach this performance level. And it took them another year to improve on that result.
I've heard a lot of drivers praising the Kiskunlachaza setup for its high grip levels, and you could feel that by walking down the starting line. VHT Traction Compound is most useful when you have over 1,000 horsepower to worry about when launching from a dig. And this track is always properly taken care of from that perspective. Markus only lined up for a chance to beat his previous record four times on Saturday. And he nailed it from the get-go. He had covered the first 660 feet (201 meters) in just over 5 seconds and was rolling at 145.401 mph (234 kph).
Photo: autoevolution/Andrei Minzu
The finish line came just a few seconds later. During his qualifying run, he managed to do a 7.83-second pass with a trap speed of 184.143 mph (296.35 kph). He turned up the heat for the second attempt and hit 185.445 (298.45 kph) at the end of the track. That was fast enough for a 7.707-second result, which was already pretty impressive. The third time around, something seemed to go wrong, and the VR6-powered Golf just barely made it across the track in 8.838 seconds.
But the team still had one more trick up their sleeves for the final run of the weekend. It can be challenging to understand how fast this thing is just by reading about it, so watch the video embedded in this article to grasp the situation better. Markus and the team set a new World Record at Kiskunlachaza, with an ET of 7.412 seconds down the quarter-mile. The exit speed was slightly slower at 182.645 mph (293.94 kph), but it was still amazing to see up close. If you're keen on knowing the secret to success, write an entire book on the team's efforts to get here.
But to sum things up, this Golf MK2 is built on a tubular chassis, according to SFI regulations. It uses a Volkswagen R32 24v engine that sits longitudinally, which would awe any factory engineer. Getting up to almost 1,400 horsepower naturally requires a long list of upgrades, and a Garrett GTX5020R turbocharger is definitely at the top of it. DP Parts delivered the pistons, and you'll see their products in cars that can run the quarter-mile in 6.6 seconds.
Photo: autoevolution/Andrei Minzu
Pauter built the connecting rods, while Injector Dynamics components handle part of the fueling setup. The team opted for a mix of 60% gas and 40% ethanol to have things running smoothly. If you're curious how all that power gets transferred to the ground, learn it goes through a Liberty 5-speed Drag Race Transmission, 28x9x15 Hoosier tires up front, and 28x10.5x15 Mickey Thompsons in the rear.
For now, this is allegedly the fastest AWDVolkswagen down the quarter-mile on Earth. Markus and the team still feel they can go even faster with this chassis, and they're looking at two more events for 2023 to make that happen. So it doesn't sound like they will change to a different car soon.In conclusion, I asked Markus for advice for any young person looking to get involved in racing. And I 100% support his answer: "Don't go street racing! Build a 1/4-mile car and go to the track!"
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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