VW Up! GTI Gets 145 Horsepower Thanks To Tuner
The smallest hot hatch in Volkswagen鈥檚 Grand Touring Injection portfolio, the Up! GTI, is surely no match for its larger brothers Polo GTI and Golf GTI, but is still a cute and quite a capable machine. Despite its tiny three-cylinder 1.0-liter engine, the Up! GTI reaches 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in just 8.8 seconds. But what will happen if we add more power? That鈥檚 probably the question the folks over at B&B Automobiltechnik have asked themselves when creating a tuning project for the vehicle from Wolfsburg. The German specialists have developed a two-stage engine program, which boosts the small car鈥檚 power output and improves its acceleration and top speed figures. See how fast the Up! In level 1, the boost pressure is increased by approximately 0.2 bars, which results in increased output by 21 horsepower (16 kilowatts). Stage 2 brings an optimized intake and air inducts in combination with more boost pressure and the required engine map adaptation. This second level of engine tuning results in a total output of 145 hp (107 kW) and 192 pound-feet (260 Newton-meters) of torque - quite impressive figures for a car that weighs just 1,070 kilograms (2,358 pounds). The engine improvements should make the Up! GTI significantly faster than in stock form. The 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) acceleration time is reduced to 7.9 seconds, while the top speed increases to over 130 mph (210 kph). The keep the more powerful car calm on the road, B&B Automobiltechnik has also developed a sports suspension, which lowers it by about 30 millimeters. New adjustable coilovers should allow significantly higher cornering speeds and greater fun behind the wheel. What makes the studio鈥檚 package even more appealing is the fact that it comes at a very reasonable price.
Today鈥檚 Nice Price or Crack Pipe GTI comes from an era when VW鈥檚 were not, shall we say, the most reliable cars in the world. With the VR6 however, they were still pretty fun. Let鈥檚 see if this one comes with a price that keeps the fun coming. I got ninety nine problems, but a Bimmer with electrical issues ain鈥檛 one. I鈥檒l bet the seller of yesterday鈥檚 1997 BMW Z3 wishes he could be like Jay-Z. Instead, he鈥檚 saddled with trying to sell his beloved but broken Bimmer. Not only that but he鈥檚 in a state where a check engine light can put a stop to title transfer. 2,100 asking price. Tempting as that all may have been, in the end 54 percent of you added to his woes with a Crack Pipe loss. Old German cars and finicky behavior go together like one-night stands and STDs鈥攖here鈥檚 almost always bad with the good.
A very good old German car (henceforth OGC) when it works well is the VW GTI. With the narrow angle VR6 engine under its hood, the little hot hatch gets elevated past very good to almost great. The car comes from a bygone era when the Golf GTI could be had with a lighter two-door/hatch body and that has its pros and cons. Styling wise the MKIV Golf has held up very well. Reliability from models of this era however, has proven not to be a strong suit. That being said, the 2.8-litre VR6 under the hood can make wonderful sounds and is able to apply its available 174 horses with aplomb. The wheels themselves are 18-inch Aristos like on an R32 and look to be in fine shape. Both bodywork and the red paint seem to have held up well over their almost two-decades of life and aside from the wheels the car looks to be much as it did when it left Wolfsburg.
Did it get in a shunt? What鈥檚 going on underneath? Now, when I think GTI I naturally envision plaid sport seats because I freaking love plaid sport seats. As this one sports the range-topping GLX trim package it has leather鈥攂lack plaid-less leather. That leather shows some wrinkling, and that likely means some breakdown of the underlying cushions. The leather topping at least seems unbroken and free of major issues. Aside from some GTI floor mats the rest of the interior looks to be stock, right down to the old school AM/FM/cassette with separate CD spinner in the center stack. An automatic climate control sits beneath that and sports a confusingly similar control panel. The only major flaw in here is a passenger-side airbag cover that looks like it鈥檚 losing a battle with the sun. It鈥檚 curling at the corners, and if you鈥檝e ever watched the winter Olympics you鈥檒l know that you鈥檒l never medal if you curl at the corners. The title is said to be clear, although the registration tags in the pictures are out of date.
Maybe it鈥檚 been re-upped since then. Other maintenance and/or history goes undisclosed. That can be a bad thing on a GTI of this age. As we noted, OGCs can be problematic, some more so than others. Things that you might not expect to go wrong, like coil packs, can and do on VW鈥檚 of this age with regularity. Electrical issues and suspension wear from aggressive driving can also take their toll. It鈥檚 a unique factor and one that may make this GTI a keeper in the long run. 5,895 on eBay!) and while that鈥檚 a lot for a 20-year old GTI, this is the top of the heap when it comes to 20 year old GTIs. What do you think, is this VR6-equipped GTI worth that kid of cash? Or, is that too much to go OGC without knowing its full history? H/T to EdHelmsBakery for the hookup! Help me out with NPOCP. Remember to include your Kinja handle.
