In tuner car circles, there aren’t many rules on the limit of an engine a builder could put in a car. It’s a pretty free-for-all market. However, the vehicles that get the most credit are sleepers. There’s something menacingly attractive about a docile-looking car winning against an aggressive contender. The Hoonigan team, on their Hoonigan Bonus channel, featured such a car by Alex, founder of Innovative Motorsports in Connecticut.
Alex’s opener pretty much sums up what we expect of his featured cars. His company is prevalent for one thing – putting 5-cylinder engines in everything they can. On Hoonigan’s latest episode, he featured two ultimate Volkswagen Golf sleeper cars.
The first one was a 2017 SEL VW Golf Alltrack. The next was a more enthusiast car, a 2016 Golf R.
His 2016 Golf R has a tuned Audi RS3 engine. It’s an OEM build making 500 hp (507 ps). He also swapped the transmission (DQ 500) and, according to Alex, the car is pretty much an RS3 with a body of a Golf R. What’s best, it’s 300 lbs (136 kg) lighter and emission compliant.
“It feels right. Sometimes you do weird swaps right, and it doesn’t feel right in the chassis. It feels right in this car. It feels at home, no lights, no nothing,” Alex confessed.
The 2017 VW Golf Alltrack also has the same treatment as the 2016 Golf R (Audi RS3 internals) and makes 500 hp (507 ps). It’s the ultimate sleeper, thanks to its pedestrian looks. Alex says you could pack your entire family in this car and still run a ten in the strip.
So, what do you think about the swaps? 2017 SEL VW Golf Alltrack is a no-brainer. It’s the perfect sleeper, but what about the VW Golf R? Would you gut it out for an RS3 heart plant or keep it in stock?
Tell us what you think about the mods in the comment section. We’d love to hear your thoughts on these.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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