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VW Tiguan on Bentley Wheels: It Was Bound to Happen

So you want to spend a lot of money changing only the wheels on your car? You're probably a Volkswagen owner, and ever since the sexy second-generation Tiguan came out, it's become fashionable to play with SUVs as well.
VW Tiguan on Bentley Wheels: It Was Bound to Happen 8 photos
Photo: Instagram user @danilo.vw
VW Tiguan on Bentley Wheels: It Was Bound to HappenVW Tiguan on Bentley Wheels: It Was Bound to HappenVW Tiguan on Bentley Wheels: It Was Bound to HappenVW Tiguan on Bentley Wheels: It Was Bound to HappenVW Tiguan on Bentley Wheels: It Was Bound to HappenVW Tiguan on Bentley Wheels: It Was Bound to HappenVW Tiguan on Bentley Wheels: It Was Bound to Happen
It's essentially like a Golf, only 50% heavier and fat. On the other hand, that front end design ins undeniably bolder than your average Vdub. Like we said, changing the wheels on this brand of car is pretty common. But not just any wheels will do.

Many years ago, it became popular in Europe to have Bentley wheels. Initially, they were real alloys from Continental GTs, sometimes even stolen sets. But now, there are companies specializing in these kinds of replicas. We didn't do a big background check, but most of them come from China.

That's very good news since Bentley wheels would normally need offsets to fit a Golf's hole pattern. Also, replicas are much cheaper, going below $1,000 for most normal sizes. So you're either going to get a new iPhone or cool wheels - your choices.

This particular 20x8-inch design is called the ET41 and looks quite similar to the Bentley wheels on the Skoda Octavia and VW T-Roc we showed you. But this particular Tiguan is clearly an American model, with a longer wheelbase than its European counterpart and orange reflectors on the bumpers.

In case you didn't know, the powertrains are different too. Most European models come with the 2-liter diesel, while the 1.5-liter turbo from the Jetta is also available. But American Tiguans only have a 2-liter turbo de-tuned to 184 hp and matched to an 8-speed auto rather than the DSG.

Its owner, Daniel Orlando from Philadelphia (we think), also had the orange crossover fitted with air ride suspension, tucked away into the trunk. It's not mind-blowing stuff, but it deserves a second glance.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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