Rare hare: VW Motorsport Mk3 16v G60...Say what?

It's not all that often that I come across a Volkswagen model that I've never heard of, but this my friends is one of those models. My German is more that a little bit rusty I'm afraid, but from what I can tell this car was never intended to be a stand alone model like the Golf Limited or even the stillborn Golf A59. (which is for sale again by the way - $18,000 - A steal!)

Click to see the full-size dealio

From what my high school Deutsch is allowing me to understand, this was to be a possible upgrade option for the GTI 16v Mk3. Probably the work of some fertile minds in Hannover who realized 'hey, we only built 71 Golf Limited models and we have a truck load of these 16v G60 conversion parts laying around, let's try to sell them.'

The conversion included the engine work, which featured lowered compression to 9:1, resulting in a G-Lader assisted power output of 208ps and 287Nm torque. Tires are bumped up to 225/40 R16, and ultimately resulted in a 0-100kph (62mph) of 7.3, which seems high to me, and a terminal velocity of 240kph (149mph, which seems 100% possible.) Oh and it had some trick VW Motorsport gauges too, just as icing on the cake.

The cost was 13,870DM (Deutsch Marks), which back then would have been around $6,900. Not cheap, but man would it have been cool. It sure would be nice if VW Motorsport offered up conversions like this these days...

_WRS

I have to confess. The much maligned G60 engine is actually one of my favorites from VW. It has a certain charm. Is it the unique sound from the blower? The underdog status? The cantankerous reputation? Maybe all of those things, but there's no denying that it does, when shown proper love and affection, have some bite to go with its bark.

There is probably no-one in the world better known for G60 performance than Jeroen Dik at JD Engineering. His Mk1 GTI was, and is, the stuff of legendary status. I'll post on that sometime later on, but the final spec of his car involved a motorsport gearbox, 16v head, custom plenum intake manifold with 8 injectors, and plenty of power. I can't recall what it made in final spec, and perhaps Jeroen himself may know that, but it was at least 360hp or so. The masterpiece:

The engine shown here was available for sale up until a few months ago, and it currently resides in the car featured here, a Seat Ibiza Cupra 16v. The video is a bit shakey (could have used a better mount in the cage), but it sounds awesome, and clearly has some power. My dream project is still a Mk1 G60. One day, one day...

_WRS