VW GTI Wolfsburg Edition

 

The original Volkswagen Mk. 1 Golf GTI was a creation by a bunch of enthusiasts working in Wolfsburg all those years ago back, in 1974. It’s therefore fitting that another bunch of young apprentices have been given free rein to come up with another enthusiasts version of the Mk. 7 Golf GTI. The potent hatchback is the culmination of more than nine months of afterhours work for a 12-person strong team. They call it the GTI Wolfsburg Edition.

Unveiled at the popular Volkswagen Worthersee festival in Austria, the bespoke Golf GTI features quite a lot more than just your regular 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder. Extra hot hatch grunt comes from a power boost from 169kW to a kidney-crunching 280kW. Easily surpassing the output of South Africa’s local market 206kW Golf R, which has all-wheel drive of course.

Using a three-door Golf GTI with the performance pack (neither of which is available in South Africa, sadly) stage three turbo tuning was required for 280kW to materialise on the dynamometer. And while Volkswagen don’t go into any more detail on how power gains were made, they do say the Wolfsburg Edition has a carbon air box and a hand-made stainless steel exhaust system featuring vacuum valve control so the exhaust note can be tailored by the driver.

While the impressive power increase should test the humble front-wheel drive layout to extremes, the styling tweaks gifted the GTI Wolfsburg by apprentices are perhaps a little less palatable. A bespoke front splitter and rear spoiler, lots of red lining, red-detailed wheels and red graphics of GTI on the door insides and a Wolfsburg skyline on the exterior might be a little too red for some… but the tartan pattern Recaro seats can stay, along with the carbon ceramic brakes.