Matt Kappen's Mk2 Golf 1.8t Syncro

I've gotten the chance to meet a lot of really great people over the years thanks to my job. Sadly a lot of them tend to move on to other industries or move on with life in general, so they don't always stick around...Matt Kappen, owner of this amazing red Mk2 is one of those people. No longer in the field, but clearly still capable of some great work. Josh shot this car a couple years back, and I was actually able to take a peak at this amazing build in person at H20 the year it was unveiled.



Matt was the co-owner and operator of G&M Performance, a shop which built a number of very impressive cars in its day. Mk1 16v turbo, ABT Cup body-kitted Mk3 GTI VR6, Mk1 16v on carbs, the list goes on.



In my brief chat while he was waiting for top dog to start, I got some of the basics, and the rest I can tell you thanks to the pictures Josh shot for the Eurotuner feature. I could tell you more but to be honest, I can't find my copy with this car in it, so I'll generalize. I'm sure you could order a back issue or check it out online for the full story.



Basically it's a stock-block 1.8t with a big turbo, likely good for around 300whp or so, but then this build wasn't really about making maximum horsepower alone. It was about usable horsepower, and this puppy can use every last one that it makes.



An all wheel drive GTI or Golf has always been the ultimate VW in my eyes. They can put down more power, they ride better (that independent rear suspension does wonders for that, believe me), and they can handle better as well. Matt's Golf doesn't have just a basic VW Syncro swap either.



The somewhat unreliable and certainly weaker Syncro set up was ditched in favor of the much newer, and more durable Haldex system. This creates a lot of problems, not the least of which is that you need to be able to control the Haldex system. Normally this is handled by the ECU in an R32 or TT car, but obviously this was not going to happen in Matt's car since he was using a superior Autronic ECU for engine control.



So what to do? Kevin Black, arguably one of the better known stand-alone tuners on the East Coast, was the man with the answers, figuring out how to get the Autronic ECU to control the Haldex differential and sending power to the rear. The differential supposedly just dropped in, but that's probably about as close to the truth as the Digifiz cluster just wiring right up to the Autronic as well. (which is true...fully functional and operational)



It also has widened fenders, Kodiak wheels, and pretty much every nice little touch that you could hope to have.



At the end of the day, this car is just one of those perfect examples that treads the fine line between show, street, and track. It's clearly not a daily driver, but it doesn't sit so low or appear to be a trailer queen either. For me, this is an ideal car build. Motorsport looks, Recaro seats. Sort of a high-line motorsport example of what VW would build, had they had today's technology, and the guts to put it out. In fact I seem to remember reading that Matt had that similar idea when he built the car.



At any rate, this was too good a vehicle to leave in the vault (hint hint Josh, keep digging for the rest), and I feel like this is the sort of car that will still look fresh and be inspirational long after all the rusted hoods, rat style, pink wheel, roof rack stuff is a faded memory. Kinda like landau tops.

_WRS