Here in South Africa we’re a bit obsessed with Mk1 Volkswagen Golfs. This is no doubt attributable to our continued, local, production of the small, affordable, little ‘people’s car’ through all its iterations; right up until the Golf Chico ended things off. Visit any local trackday on the weekend and you’ll also see that the Mk1/2 Golf is the weapon of choice for budget speed freaks and racers alike. Their affordable shells and plentiful supply of spare parts make them the perfect car to turn into a track-based hot rod.
It seems as though the idea of a humble Mk1 Golf that goes like a bat-out-of-hell has taken hold in Germany too. Fast Mk1 Golfs are more of a novelty in Germany, where legislation dictates that cars over a certain age can’t legally be sold-on, but must rather be scrapped instead. As South African’s, however, it’s great to see what is possible when a German tuner does decide to lavish a bit of money and attention on one.
On the surface, this little car looks harmless enough, but somehow German tuner, Boba Kettler, has managed to squeeze 548 kW out of the 2.0 litre 16V engine with the help of a great, big turbocharger. If it sounds like a recipe for chaos when it comes to the car’s front-wheel drive layout, that’s because it is.
Power is still only sent to the front wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox. The performance is pretty astonishing. Zero to 100 km/h is dispatched in no time at all, although the tuner cannot reliably tell us exactly just how quick his creation is, as traction off the line is a little hit and miss. For this reason though, once the car is one the move and traction is available, Boba can boast about the car’s 100 to 200 km/h time, which is 5 seconds flat! That is faster than a Bugatti Veyron and the Golf’s top speed is over 320 km/h.
We could tell you more, but the video below speaks volumes. Who doesn’t enjoy a little wheel spin?!
