Manhart liberates 450hp from Golf R
The Golf R is already a quick car, so how about one with 50 per cent more power?
The 450hp Mk7 Golf R is not a new prospect, what with Revo having got there a few years back, producing a fairly staggering Volkswagen hatchback. Today's news of Manhart replicating the feat is perhaps more notable for the fact that the Wuppertal-based tuner is best known for BMWs. Clearly the appetite for even faster Golf Rs is showing no sign of abating.
Much like the Revo car, Manhart's enormous power gains mostly come from fitting the EA888 2.0-litre - an engine proving itself very useful to tuners - with a chunkier turbo. The Manhart RS450 then gets to its headline figure with a new intake (including a carbon airbox), an ECU remap and exhaust tinkering. Interestingly, too, torque is very close to the Revo car, this Manhart making 369lb ft against 376.
Manhart will make 10 of these RS450 specials, presumably all to this spec: H&R lowering springs, new wheels, the stripes and so on. All very good for 10 German customers. However, if this news has reawakened a desire for a 450hp Golf in the UK, early Mk7 Rs are now half their new price. Add the Revo goodies for a few thousand more, and there's the potential for A45-baiting performance for something like 50 per cent of the cost. Intriguing, no?
The only issue is, working in the trade, I see A LOT of these cheap PCPs coming through now after 3/4 year leases - they are mainly bog standard spec. A current GTI feels like an S Class inside compared to an R.
I had fully intended to take my estate to that sort of level but even with the base Mountune software on the engine and gearbox its plenty quick enough and too easy to get into license loosing territory as is!
It had a Revo badge on the boot iirc and a lovely Pistonheads-like smiley with middle fingers erect and a ‘fk you, Greta!’ line underneath.
Best of both worlds.
Took off like a scolded car as soon as we left the 30mph limit and didn’t see it again despite me giving, as Deadpool would say, “Maximum effort!”
Despite what various naysayers post, I’d love one although I’m the sort of weirdo that would stick a TDi badge on the boot and try to find a less obvious exhaust...
The only issue is, working in the trade, I see A LOT of these cheap PCPs coming through now after 3/4 year leases - they are mainly bog standard spec. A current GTI feels like an S Class inside compared to an R.
Then, as now, the answer is quite simple - VWs old and new tend to be more stable at everyday speeds than their competitors. To a normal driver, they can therefore appear a little bit inert in normal use.
The revelation came later, on late-night back roads as you attempted to re-write the laws of physics with a VW. What was stable at 60 was rather more fun at 120+ (allegedly). They "flow" at higher speeds. Yer 205s of that period, despite being more exciting at lower speeds, simply spun out or scared the HP out of you at comparable velocities on similar roads, and their hot-shoe owners had to back off. And you could go into the red zone repeatedly in a VW while being an average driver. I proved this to my youthful rivals by swapping cars and testing each other on the same road. I was consistently far faster in the VW; and so was my mate, the 205 owner (to his annoyance); despite there not being much between our cars in terms of on-paper performance. Doubtless, a really skilled driver could have made up the difference in the 205. However, I'm merely an enthusiastic driver; I'm not especially skilled - and neither are most people in the real world.
I'm sorry, if you find hot-hatch VWs "boring", I'm afraid you're simply not driving fast enough.
Then, as now, the answer is quite simple - VWs old and new tend to be more stable at everyday speeds than their competitors. To a normal driver, they can therefore appear a little bit inert in normal use.
The revelation came later, on late-night back roads as you attempted to re-write the laws of physics with a VW. What was stable at 60 was rather more fun at 120+ (allegedly). They "flow" at higher speeds. Yer 205s of that period, despite being more exciting at lower speeds, simply spun out or scared the HP out of you at comparable velocities on similar roads, and their hot-shoe owners had to back off. And you could go into the red zone repeatedly in a VW while being an average driver. I proved this to my youthful rivals by swapping cars and testing each other on the same road. I was consistently far faster in the VW; and so was my mate, the 205 owner (to his annoyance); despite there not being much between our cars in terms of on-paper performance. Doubtless, a really skilled driver could have made up the difference in the 205. However, I'm merely an enthusiastic driver; I'm not especially skilled - and neither are most people in the real world.
I'm sorry, if you find hot-hatch VWs "boring", I'm afraid you're simply not driving fast enough.
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