Performance VW May 2021

What did you want to do for a career when you were at school? I think my biggest problem was that I really didn’t have a clue. I wish I had done, it would certainly have made my life a bit easier on leaving school. I get asked a lot what does it take to contribute to a magazine like Performance VW. Well, funny enough, I’ve never once checked a freelancer’s qualifications when I’ve accepted a set of photos from them or commissioned a story to be written. Usually, I’ll just take a look at somebody’s previous work and go from there. And who am I to judge? I certainly don’t have anything on paper in terms of qualifications, other than perhaps the 20 year’s-worth of dribble I’ve plastered over these…

Jay McCluskey is no stranger to a modified car. The 34 year-old Blackpool-based Rope Access Inspector (your guess is as good as mine – Ed) has owned a string of impressive motors over the years. Whilst many made do with a family hand-me-down to start their automotive career, Jay was sharp out the blocks with a fast Ford: “I had my Mk5 Escort RS2000 when I was 19. It had 19” TSW multi-spokes, full interior re-trim with custom stitching and Morette twin headlights”. Munich was next on centre court including a Performance BMW featured E36 318is and an E46 M3 on Work split rims. Wolfsburg metal came from a mixture of circumstance and sibling influence: “It was my brother, Nick that got me into VWs. I purchased this 1983 Mk1 Golf…

WAGNER TUNING CARBON GEN3 AIR INTAKE Wagner Tuning has just released its carbon fibre air intake for the Gen3 2.0TSI engine found in the 8V Audi A3 and S3, plus the Mk7 Golf GTI and R models, the Octavia RS (13-18) and SEAT Leon Cupra (14-19). The WagnerTuning Air-Intake-System is a direct replacement for the factory system (small adjustment needed on SEAT application) removing all the OEM bottlenecks. With complex 3D flow simulations, the carbon air inlet system has been optimised for the best possible flow properties in order to generate maximum performance in combination with a unique intake noise. This kit also includes a specially developed sports air filter for maximum filtering effect and is said to offer mass air flow improvements of 50% over OEM. Need we say more? PRICE:…

As the Precision turbo really comes on song and the 7800rpm two step limiter kicks in there’s a series of almighty explosions inside the central London tunnel that absolutely scares the crap out of Thursday night revellers who happen to be wandering around Shoreditch. It’s relaxed Covid lockdown times (tier 2) towards the tail end of 2020, but this Bora is definitely sick. It doesn’t even need to go for a test centre - a drunken passer-by has just confirmed it. Not everyone understands why we’re taking photos of what on the surface, to many at least, appears to be a fairly humdrum looking VW family wagen. “Give it a rev mister,” and “What’s so special about that,” We hear on more than a few occasions. Little do they know that…

Perspective is a tricky thing, isn’t it? We spend our whole lives honing and refining our view of the world, perfecting our cognitive powers in order to uniquely analyse and interpret the goings-on around us, but it only takes one shift in reality to totally throw off all of our reference points. Take a look at the Mk2 Golf you see spread across these pages: if this car had been appearing here back in, say, 2019, we’d have been all set to regale you with tales of how the 16v GTI has always been a strong base for extreme mods, but this example proves that it was so good to start with that it only requires some well-chosen chassis tweaks to turn it into the archetypal modern classic. But we…

ROTIFORM Never a brand to stand still, California-based Rotiform continue to drop new cast, forged and multi-piece wheels at an alarming rate. So much so, that we struggle to keep up. Here are just a few of their latest offerings, but head over to their website for a full list… CONTACT: www.rotiform.com KB1 Motorsport-look multi-fit cast wheel with a simple six-spoke design and vented outer section PRICE: £332.40 SIZES: 8.5x19 PCD: 5x112/114.3 & 5x120/108 OFF-SET: ET35, 40, 42, 45 TUF-R This 14-spoke cast wheel has more than a hint of supercar about it. Hot damn! PRICE: TBC SIZES: 8.5x18”. 9.5x18”, 8.5x19”. 9.5x19”. 8.5x20”, 10x20” PCD: 5x112/114.3 & 5x120/108 OFF-SET: ET25, 35, 38, 45 SGN Twenty-spoke cast wheel with more than a hint of new-wave DTM racer to it PRICE: TBC SIZES: 8.5x19”, 10x19”, 9x20”, 10.5x20” PCD: 5x112, 5x114.3, 5x120, 5x108 OFF-SET: ET25, 35, 40, 45 AVS A chunky six-spoke forged wheel that…