The Smoking Tire Tests 500 HP VW Eos With Scirocco Front End

Why isn't anybody talking about the Scirocco front end on this car? There's no mention of it, even in the comments section of the video. It's like people forgot Volkswagen never sold the 'Rocco in the States!

Regardless, The Smoking Tire is at its third car from Canadian tuner HPA. This is their heaviest project, as well as one of the weirdest.

It started out with one of the few Eos convertibles that were fitted with the VR6 engine. On top of that, HPA Motorsport fitted a bolt-on turbocharger kit and a few other goodies, raising the output to 500 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque. They call it the FT500, and for a good reason. There aren't that many 4-seat convertibles with that much grunt.

To handle all that power, the Eos was also gifted a 4Motion all-wheel-drive system from the Passat. There's also a DSG gearbox with an upgraded clutch and electronics somewhere in the mix.

So how does it drive? Well, she's a giggle. HPA calls this the "bread and butter" kit for the VR6 engine, but it's still really fast. With the top down, the experience is even more thrilling. But it's not a track car since the unibody of the Eos is as soft as a wet noodle.

Like every video of a car with a VR6 engine, the discussion naturally gravitates towards this weird engine configuration. But we're more concerned with the front end of the car, so much so that we tracked some photos HPA released earlier this year.

They show how the traditional round headlights of the Eos were replaced with those of a Scirocco, a car that's not sold in America. The coupe also donated its long nose, hood, and fenders. But the mods weren't as easy as naming a few body parts.