Hot hatchbacks used to be slower, but a lot more bonkers in appearance. They had big wings at the back, massively flared wheel arches and wheels that made you feel dirty inside just by looking. If you ignore the quad exhaust, the Golf R could pass as a regular car, even though it packs over three times more power than a base 1.2 TSI model.
Even the German auto industry has stopped trying to mess with the appearance, knowing the customers prefer a discreet car. But over in Japan, it's an entirely different story.
As a little side made by the resident VW guy (that's me) I want to mention the Japanse, Golf R is supposed to have 280 PS, not 300. Vossen Wheels also has a Vdub person at large, and he traveled to the Land of the Rising Sun to film and photograph the Golf R made by Hamana.
This is a relatively unknown car tuner that doesn't play by the rules. Instead of fixing new plastic bits on, Hamana likes to play with what's already there. Using old-fashioned cutting, welding, and body filler, they extend the fenders of nearly every car they touch.
Seeing as the Golf R is only about 4.3 meters long, the effects are dramatic. We've seen the project before, but some new shoes have been fitted in the form of Vossen Forged LC-105T wheels.
All the members of the Hamana fleet are painted white, and we have a little Mercedes-badged surprise reserved for later. The wheels are special, to say the least. The new LC series from Vossen pays homage to the lip concept, where you have more metal than you need to keep the rubber in check. It's a German thing...
The LC-105T forged alloys fitted to the Golf R measure 20x9.5 inches at the front and 20x11 for the rear. After being forged in Miami, they were polished nad powder coated silver.
But wait, there's more, as the stupid infomercials say. Multiple upgrades have been used to set this Golf R apart. They include better brakes, an intake, exhaust system, and tune that round out the performance modifications.
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. Full profile
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