Table of contents for March 2024 in Performance VW

Before I reveal what’s inside the magazine this month, I wanted to talk about how you actually purchased this very issue in the first place? If you’re smart, then chances are you’re reading a digital version on your phone or tablet, which is cheaper than print and instant to download. Perhaps you’re smarter still, and you bought it as a print subscription, so not only did you pay less than the cover price, you also have had it delivered to your door for free. Oh, and if you signed up recently, then chances are you’ll also have received a Meguiar’s detailing kit (worth £99)!! Okay, so you might be an OG magazine hustler and prefer the chase of hunting a copy down each month, but with less newsagents around these…

RACINGLINE EA888.4 OIL COOLER The RacingLine Oil Cooler Kit is an essential fit for any hard-driven EA888.4 MQB 'Evo' 2.0 TSI car, particularly those running high power levels or in hot climates. It’s a complete, ready to install package, using a clever sandwich plate design for simple and reliable installation. The 10-row stacked plate design efficiently forces the hot oil through a series of aluminium pressed plates. Heat dissipates as cold air moves across the plates. Cool oil means a protected engine. PRICE: £576.58 CONTACT: racingline.shop FORMULA 1 KARTING EXPERIENCE Formula 1 and Tottenham Hotspur have recently released details on the world’s first in-stadium karting facility which will be based below Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s iconic South Stand, as part of a 15-year strategic partnership between the Club and Formula 1.…

The Passat turned 50 last year and, although it’s often overshadowed by the Golf, it’s an been a bit of a trailblazer. Back in 1973, the B1 generation the first member of Volkswagen’s new front-engined, water-cooled line-up (the K70 it replaced was a re-badged NSU) and, with 34 million finding homes since, it’s gone on to outsell the Beetle. The ‘Passat’ a by-word for dependable and practical family motoring but, without the DTM or BTCC notoriety of its rivals, it’s less famed for its performance credentials. At least, not in factory spec. Within the ranks of the VWDRC, Rob and Hazel Carter are earning a very different reputation for the earliest Passat. Their six-year overhaul of the B1 platform has resulted in two of the club’s best-known vehicles; a 1,200hp…

A love of Buses came early to 47-year-old Dean Bunclark, owner of a renewable energy company from Rotherham. "I had a ’66 Bus when I was 18, but then life, marriage and buying houses happened and it was sold, along with the ’67 Beetle I owned at the time, too. “But when I had a family, I thought it would be a great way to create memories, so on a family holiday to Cornwall with my then wife and young kids, we hired one to see if it would work.” Needless to say, it did, and so the quest began to buy one of their own. The search didn't take them far. "A friend of mine, Simon, had this Samba sat in his garage nearby, so once a month I'd…

As readers in the UK bundle up in chunky jumpers and fleecy onesies, you probably don’t want to hear about how we’ve been strolling about the Las Vegas strip in a t-shirt and getting slightly sunburnt. Sorry about that. But that’s the magnificent weirdness of the SEMA show – it gives you a chance to pretend it’s still summer, while also basking in the warming glow of the best-of-the-best of the modifying scene. Held annually since 1967, the SEMA show is a mighty and unparalleled display of contemporary, traditional, and cutting-edge modified car culture. The vast and rambling chambers of the Las Vegas convention centre are stuffed to the gills with amazing project builds, and all conceivable angles are covered, from massive lifted pickup trucks to custom choppers and everything…

On fear of sounding like a bunch of old codgers, one of the many things we find ourselves reminiscing about in the PVW office on an almost daily basis is those legendary ‘skunkworks’ projects we were treated to in decades gone by. It seems hard to fathom in this modern age of ULEZ-compliant fridge-freezers-on-wheels that, just a few years back, companies still had the balls to not only come up with these truly epic concept vehicles in their own time, but to actually get them to a stage where they had number plates slapped onto them and were available to purchase from your local dealership. It may have been a while since we saw anything directly from a manufacturer that got our pulses racing to quite the same extent (the…

America’s East Coast Mk3 Meet does exactly what its says on the tin. Held back in September at Spruce Run Recreation Area, New Jersey, the show is strictly for Mk3/A3 platform cars (1992-1999.5) only. Organised by Mike Boyle and a whole bunch of his friends, the show debuted in 2021 and welcomed 84 for that maiden event. Despite the rain at the latest show, the team still saw 62 cars rock up to the venue. The show itself is centred around a stage area where the organisers park their cars, sell merchandise and have a DJ set-up. This is also where you will find the raffle prizes, the auction takes place and the trophies are stored. In terms of sponsors, Rollin Euroz, Open Air Imports and Tri State Euros are…

Well, basically they operate your engine’s inlet and exhaust valves, opening and closing them at the right moments to allow your engine to run. By making changes to when your valves open – how far they open and how long they open for – you can transform how your engine performs… LIFT AND DURATION The two main things you can adjust by tweaking your cams are lift, which is how far your valves open. And duration, which is how long your valves are open for. In performance terms, higher lift gives improved power with very little loss of low rpm performance. But you will be limited to how much is possible without the valve spring going coil bind, exceeding the cam follower contact area or causing excessive wear to the…

FEBRUARY 25th EUROFEST RALEIGH NC Fairgrounds, USA southeasteuromotorsport.com MARCH 3rd RISE NATION - HALL OF FAME Mechhelen, Belgium risenation.be 10th ULTIMATE DUBS Telford International Centre ultimate-dubs.co.uk 16-17th VOLKSWORLD PLUS Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey volksworldshow.com 29-31st FESTIVAL OF POWER Santa Pod Raceway santapod.co.uk APRIL 6-7th DUBSHED Eikon Centre, Lisburn, NI GTINI.com 12-13th WOOKIES IN THE WOODS Fontana Dam, NC, USA wookiesinthewoods.com 13-14th APRIL GR8 CAR SHOW Kortrijk Xpo, Belgium gr8mag.be 14th AUTO CULTURE ’24 Doncaster Racecourse FB: Elsecar at the Races 21st GTI SPRING FEST 2024 Santa Pod Raceway santapod.co.uk 21st SUNDAY SCRAMBLE Bicester Heritage bicesterheritage.co.uk 21st DROPPED Heusden Zodler, Belgium dropped.be 28th DUSTOFF Thompson Speedway, CT, USA nedustoff.com 28th LAY LOW 11 Kortrijk, Belgium FB: Lay Low MAY 5th BHP SHOW Kent Event Centre, Maidstone bhpshows.com 5th EUROBUILT SHOW &…

PRICE £TBC Ahead of it’s full reveal, VW has teased the first look at the facelifted VW Golf GTI Mk8.5, which marks the final petrol-powered Golf GTI. Poised to be fully unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, VW has given us a glimpse of the facelifted version of its Mk8 VW Golf GTI. You might well be asking why a car is being unveiled at an electronics show. Well, that’s because VW wants to show off its latest car tech in the Mk8.5 Golf GTI, and that’s AI chat. AI chat isn’t all that new, but in recent years it’s piqued the interest of more than most. And that’s not least car manufacturers, who are looking at ways they can incorporate the technology into modern cars.…

There are finite ways an enthusiast can come into possession of their next project. Barn finds, hand-me-downs and the little old ladies nursing their garage-kept Polos are all fit for punching your next project car ticket. But sometimes it’s the cars right under your nose that work best. “I got this car from my good friend Jesse Seymour in April 2013,” 35-year-old Daniel Herrera tells us. “I had painted this car Alpine White for him and that’s how we met and became friends.” Daniel, a body shop owner from Bowie, Maryland, is no stranger to these pages, having painted a handful of previous feature cars including Joe Tavella’s 24v Mk1 (PVW 3/13) and Tony Grimmel’s Mk2 Jetta Coupe Rallye (PVW Autumn 2017). One thing you’ll notice is the pop of…

The brain child of PVW US-contributor, Jamie Orr, L’oe Show sees Volkswagens and Audis coming to a small historic industrial town near Philadelphia, from 7 different countries, and 22 different US States, with some even coming directly from the Volkswagen factory and warehouses in Germany. From the Volkswagen Classic division in Wolfsburg, Germany, two cars were shipped exclusively for the show, and they’re right up the alley for us at PVW.. The 1987 Volkswagen Motorsport Pikes Peak Golf with twin 16v engines making a total of over 600hp. Having made an appearance at Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Eifel Rally, this would be its first time back to the USA since its hill climb run in the ‘80s. The mk2 was joined by the Volkswagen Jetta Mk1 Cabriolet Concept,…