Volkswagen Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News

Volkswagen is intent on proving their hybrid drivetrain is capable of some seriously impressive feats. Setting the production hybrid land speed record definitely qualifies. Volkswagen was able to hit a verified of 185.394 miles per hour which is the highest speed ever achieved by a production based hybrid. Aerodynamic changes were made within the class rules to help achieve this speed so we do not think a stock production car will be able to match it. Nevertheless, it is the same general body and 1.4 cylinder turbo TSI motor with 150 horsepower plus a 27 horse electric motor (although modified). ...

Very impressive results here by USP Motorsports with a Stage 3 APR kit on a Jetta GLI. The results here are on 93 octane pump gas. The APR kit features a Garrett GT3071R, larger fuel injectors, APR exhaust manifold, ECU tune, and the supporting components. USP Motorsports added a custom 3 inch full exhaust. This is a Jetta that will surprise a lot of people especially from a roll with its front wheel drive it and likely has much more in it on race gas. ...

IP theft is pretty much rampant in China and the government does not seem to do anything about it. Last year we reported how the Chinese blatantly steal automotive designs. Volkswagen recently extended an agreement with their Chinese partner FAW for 25 years. The German chancellor and the Chinese prime minister both were present to witness the signing of the agreement and everyone seemed to be great friends. ...

Volkswagen found a winning formula with the Passat CC. BMW found a winning formula with the X6. Volkswagen believes it can repeat the success of the Passat CC and create a rival for the BMW X6 with a Touareg CC as AutoBild reports. The car has yet to receive the green light but would be based on the next generation Touareg and no doubt Audi would get a variant as well. Pricing would be in the 52,000 Euro range making this a premium model. ...

Lotus had some very big plans with planned expansion of the model lineup. Those plans fizzled (no surprise really) as they were far too ambitious and expensive. Proton currently owns Lotus so VW would have to consider either a minority or majority stake in the Malaysian company to have any control over Lotus. Volkswagen is flush with cash and is seeking world domination but going after Lotus might just be a waste of resources. The idea is likely to get control of Proton for Asian vehicle production with Lotus just being a part of a larger puzzle. If anyone could turn Lotus around though, it would be VW. ...

APR has released their ECU tune for the VW/Audi 2.0 TDI motors. The stock motors are in the 140 horsepower range and APR claims to boost this up to 170. Torque gains go from 236 to 297 pound-feet. Crank and wheel graphs are posted below. This upgrade is available for the diesel Audi A3, MKV and MKVI Golf, MK5 and MKVI Jetta, and the B6 Passat. Very nice gains at a very reasonable price. ...

The next generation MKVII Golf is coming (spotted testing here) and will make its debut this fall at the Paris car show. We will get the standard Golf in the USA as well as the GTI. What is interesting is we may also get the GTD which is akin to a GTI diesel. Car and Driver rendered the new Golf as you can see in the picture below. With how important this model is for the VW brand we have no doubt it will improve on everything we love about the current MKVI. ...

It seems like Boba Motoring is breaking their own record every week. We just saw this car hit 200 miles per hour as well as break into the 8's with an 8.89@165 mph run. Well, they have managed to lower their elapsed time to 8.65. This is a MKII Golf running E85 fuel on a 1.8 liter 16 valve motor. A Garrett GTX4202R compresses enough air for 900+ horsepower on this run. That power is sent through a 4 speed sequential to all four wheels. How much quicker can this thing possibly get? ...

1000 miles on a single tank seems almost far fetched but Volkswagen was able to approach exactly that covering 971 miles in one tank with their BlueMotion Polo. Now to put this into context the Polo averaged only 52 miles per hour. Drivers were rotated and the tank was sealed. The test lasted from Saturday until Sunday with the last drop of fuel being used. When all was said and done 971 miles were made for a final tally of 71 MPG. ...

What Boba Motoring continues to do with their MK2 Golf is simply astounding. As if it was not enough that this is the fastest Golf in the world recently running 8's in the 1/4 mile (8.89@165) they decided to take it up to the 200 MPH mark setting a top speed record for the Golf. They actually turned the boost down for this run to 2.6 bar (37 psi) from the 55 psi used with the large Precision turbo for the record 1/4 mile run. If they want to, they have the power to easily exceed the 200 MPH (322 km/h) they hit. Check out the video below. ...

This on again off again Volkswagen takeover of Porsche is finally taking place after some creative Porsche financial maneuvering saved almost $2 billion in taxes. With that extra $2 billion put toward the deal it allows Volkswagen to purchase the 50.1% of Porsche stock it does not already own for the sum of $5.61 billion. Porsche and VW stocks shot up on the news making this a lucrative deal for everyone involved. VW will officially take control August 1st and the long back and forth saga finally comes to an end. ...

This is the same vehicle that previously ran a 9.08@163. Boba Motoring now raised the bar breaking into the 8's with a 8.89@165. This vehicle is a MK2 Golf with 4Motion all wheel drive. Only a 2500 pound curb weight. The engine is a 16 Valve 1.8 liter with a Garrett GTX420R turbo on E85 fuel. Power is around the 920 horse mark at 55 psi fed through a 4-Speed sequential dog box. New World Record for what already was the fastest Golf in the world. Congratulations to Boba-Motoring. ...

The turbocharger the MKVI Golf R comes with stock is the well known K04 turbo. This turbo accounts for a good portion of the torque and horsepower gains the Golf R gets over the GTI and is capable of over 300 horsepower. For those wanting more however enter APR with the Garrett GTX2867R turbo. APR wanted to add more than the K04 was capable of but they did not want to make a big sacrifice in response and spool. The goal was a streetable turbo upgrade. ...

The C63 AMG with the P31 Performance Package is a very formidable car putting down just under the 400 wheel horsepower mark stock. For a Golf R to be able to run with a P31 C63 from a roll it is going to need some serious upgrades and this Golf R definitely has some work done to it courtesy of German tuner HGP. We do not have the exact specs but according to HGP's website their highest tuning package for the Golf R offers 446 horsepower which is exactly what it would take for a DSG Golf R to be able to run door to door with a P31 C63. ...

The Golf R uses an older 2.0 turbo design that is referred to as the FSI. For these motors, APR believes there is a lot of power to be picked up in the heads when going for big boost such as their Stage 3 and Stage 4+ packages. APR purchased a Centroid 5 axis head porting machine (see it in action in the video below) which allows APR engineers to create identically ported heads every time they are loaded onto the machine. ...

Great news for 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and CC owners. AWE-Tuning has released their K04 turbo kit for these 2.0 TSI platforms. The kit is claimed to be good for 360 horses with the GIAC tune. The hardware is available with or without software. The factory fuel system is capable of supporting the power capability of the hardware. Pricing on the hardware is competitive retailing at $1995 without software and $2495 with software. ...

APR does absolutely great work on the VW platforms and this is no different. Eventually in builds taken to a high level the rods and pistons become a weak point in the 2.0 motors. APR suggests upgrading the rods when going beyond the Stage 3 pump gas level. The pistons here use the same compression ratio as the stock Golf R which APR feels is best and are coated in heat resistant material. APR also does a balance shaft delete which frees up some rotational mass. ...

This is just an absolutely absurd Volkswagen Golf and we love it. The car in the video below is a MK2 Golf that has been retrofitted with 4Motion all wheel drive. The car runs a 1.8 lite 16 valve motor on E85 fuel with a Garrett GTX4202R turbo for about 900 horsepower. Combine that with a 2500 pound curb weight and you get a mean VW Golf. The ECU was tuned by Boba Motoring in Germany and they claim this is the fastest Golf in the world. ...

Autocar reports the next generation MK7 Golf GTI is getting a boost to 260 horsepower putting it on par with the Golf R and topping the GTI Edition 35. The next generation GTI will also be getting a drop in weight thanks to use of aluminum. In order to put this amount of power down through a front wheel drive drivetrain Volkswagen is giving it a new VAQ differential which employs and electronically controlled Haldex clutch. ...