This VW Golf MK 7 Packs a Turbo Audi Surprise Under the Hood, Is an All-Time Great Sleeper

Meet Kevin. He's a Connecticut resident with a passion for European cars, unlike that of other enthusiasts. Meaning he's not afraid to take a sacred German car and swap its engine for something even more powerful. He didn't intend to do any crazy modifications to his family hauler. But in the end, the tuning bug bites when it pleases. A desire to make his Golf Rs exhaust note sound more like a burly Audi's changed all of that.

That's why Kevin entrusted Innovative Motorsports of Milford, CT, to take his Mk 7 Golf R and transform the internals into something uncannily resembling an Audi RS3. It starts by taking the stock Mk7 Golf R and promptly throwing most of the drivetrain in the recycling. Once a nice, wide engine bay was all that remained, a 2.5 L Audi TFSI (DAZA) inline-five engine was installed. Believe it or not, it turned out to be a perfect fit.

Power is fed through to an Audi DQ500 DSG seven-speed transmission found in larger, higher-torque VW products like the Passat. This should ensure the more powerful drivetrain shouldn't have any problems flinging around what must be at least 500 horsepower or more.

The 93-octane tune is taken care of by United Motorsport, also of Milford, CT. When the hood is closed, there's almost no sense that this is anything more than your average last-gen Golf. But a trip to an auto lift to look underneath the car proves this is anything but the case.

Underneath, we find an Audi aluminum subframe with an RS3 rear axle. In fact, any Audi parts found underneath this vehicle are all sourced from wrecked RS3s. Knowing the reputation of people who drive RS3s, there shouldn't be a scarcity of parts for these guys to work with any time soon.

With the Mk7 Golf sitting on the same VW MQB architecture as the RS 3 and even the criminally underrated TT RS, this isn't as big of a Frankenstein's gathering of different car parts as one might expect. It makes this engine swap as close to squeezing two LEGO bricks together as custom engine swaps will ever be. No cutting through the firewall or other forms of mutilation is necessary.

That is, apart from the wiring, the entire old VW electrical harness must be removed. An entirely new wiring harness has to be painstakingly installed from the fuse box to every relay from the engine bay to behind the dashboard. It's here that the bulk of the five to six-week build process is spent. Once that's all done, you then have to program ECU, dial in the tune, and then finally, the world's greatest Mk7 Golf R is just about ready to drive.

In the case of Kevin's car, he'd done a fair share of his own work on his car as well. Everything from a new stereo to a coilover suspension kit with drilled and slotted brake rotors. But as he'll tell you, a custom swap of this caliber is something most DIY gurus are going to be hard-pressed to complete yourself.

Even true wrenchers need to consult professionals every once in a while. In this case, the end result is a VW Golf that can still haul groceries but is now faster than 90 percent of everything else on the road.