This 950 HP AWD Mk II Volkswagen Golf Is a Sleeping Beauty

However, a closer inspection tells another story. Yes, it has only one headlight, but that's only done to increase the flow of cold air toward the engine intake. Besides, the car is clearly not road-legal, which makes it surprising there's even one headlight remaining.

Yes, it has a radiator coming out from under the... uhm, radiator grille, but that's the intercooler for the turbocharger. Yes, Mark II Golfs didn't have turbochargers, but this is as close to an original Volkswagen from that era as I am to being drafted by the New York Knicks next year. Or any other year, for that matter.

Those wheels do look cheap, but then again that's the whole idea of a sleeper: to make the car as unassuming as possible, something this Golf tries very hard, but ultimately fails. All of the above plus the roll cage and the large exhaust tell you you're in the presence of something powerful.

However, they don't tell you exactly how powerful. The video title and description do, and so we learn this particular build has 950 horsepower delivered to all four wheels, meaning the Golf II shell is just the sheep's skin hiding the wolf underneath.

Sadly, it looks like the car is too good for the driver as the first two runs filmed here are plagued with terrible gear shifts, hitting the rev limiter quite a few times and depriving us of what could have been a much more impressive display.

The third one is a lot better, which might suggest the driver was getting to grips with the vehicle as well. And then the fourth one comes, and we're back to square one. 950 horsepower with a clutch-pedal transmission isn't for everyone.