Table of contents for Issue 161 in VWt

ON (LE) TOUR... Hello and a warm welcome to the September edition of VWt magazine. I’ve a confession. I am currently suffering severe withdrawal symptoms from watching the Tour de France. After three weeks, 21 stages and a total of 2,063 miles, the world’s biggest sporting event has come to an end and I am missing it already. It started this year in Lille and wound its way anticlockwise through Brittany down to the Pyrenees then up through the Alps before finishing in Paris. And it was in Brittany where I saw it, about an hour from where I live. Admittedly, having waited by the roadside for ages it was over and done with in a flash but the atmosphere was electric as the blur of cyclists swished by at…

SF-TUNING 2-PIECE BRAKE DISCS Exciting news! SF-Tuning has expanded its range of performance braking components with the introduction of two-piece brake discs, which have been engineered for improved braking power, reduced weight and OEM+ styling for the VW Transporter and VAG platforms. The new discs feature a lightweight aerospace grade aluminium centre (bell) with unique cut-outs which save weight, help thermal heat transfer to the bell, hubs and wheels and look great, too. And this is combined with a high-grade cast iron outer ring. By separating the two components, the new SF-Tuning discs reduce unsprung weight for better handling and ride response, provide more efficient heat dissipation, helping to control brake fade, and facilitate modular maintenance. In other words, you can just replace the out ring when it wears. But…

“the idea that at a moment's notice you can escape the rat race and be somewhere else entirely – that really appeals to me” Richard Arnold, or Rich to his mates, isn’t exactly short of cool vehicles in his back catalogue. From a Mk1 Golf GTI and a pair of 205 GTIs, to a Tesla Model 3 Performance and a Land Rover Defender, he’s lived the full spectrum of petrolhead dreams. But none of those cars quite scratch the same itch as his T5 Volkswagen camper. “A really good friend of mine has owned a series of VW vans over the years and his current modified T5 has been part of his survival kit for over 10 years now,” Rich begins, leaning on the polished bonnet of his 2004 Transporter,…

The concept of the mashup – that is, creating new songs by blending existing songs together – reached its zenith in 2001. It’s an established and vintage formula of course, stretching right back to the dawn of music itself, and touching down over the generations on such luminaries as Frank Zappa, John Oswald and Negativland, before enjoying a startling renaissance at the turn of the millennium. The ethos was given a label in the mid-eighties when David Quantick decreed in the NME that the cyclical recycling of ideas meant that ultimately pop will eat itself (a certain band took their name from this – see if you can guess which one…), and it all came to a head when 2ManyDJs released their first legal mashup album, the iconic ‘As Heard…

Ever dreamed about seeing your Van appear within these pages and getting your 15-minutes of fame? Make that dream a reality by submitting it to VWt (ian.cushway@kelsey.co.uk) and getting it into Your Vans. Send us some hi-res images along with 300 words telling us about yourself and your van and its journey to where it is now. We’d love to see it! MICHAEL ROBERTS Hey VWt, I’m Michael – a filmmaker, video coach and proud owner of Jürgen, my 1997 VW T4 1.9 ABL, who’s been with me through more breakdowns than just the mechanical kind. I bought Jürgen back in 2019 after a tough breakup, thinking he’d be a weekend escape plan. What I didn’t expect was how much this van would become a lifeline. Truth be told, he’s…

To say it’s been a long journey is an understatement. Indeed, little did I know that when colleague Martyn Knowles, editor of Car Mechanics magazine, placed the winning bid on a 2011 T5.1 I’d taken a fancy to for sale at a BCA auction at the start of 2024, it would take me up until now to get it registered in France where I live. The vehicle in question had covered over 200k miles and needed loads of work doing when Martyn started writing about it. I am talking new brakes all round, new suspension and new tyres. Not to mention a full respray of the nearside rear quarter panel and tailgate. Having carried out a full oil service and cambelt replacement, the biggest expense however concerned the DSG ‘box.…

Own a super-tasty Transporter, Crafter or Multivan and want it featured in these very pages? Then show us what you’ve got! Please e-mail a good selection of images that show the exterior and interior of your van to ian.cushway@kelsey.co.uk along with a spec list and add the subject title ‘Feature me VWt’. If we like what we see, we’ll get back to you ASAP about the possibility of a full VWt magazine feature shoot. So, what are you waiting for? Get snapping and show us your van, we’d love to see it!…

“Tom admits, buying a van was always something they’d talked about doing one day” Let’s just say, having spoken to Tom Newey, there’s no point rolling out the usual hackneyed phrases. Nope, I am saying nothing about breaking sticks of rock and what might be written through the middle. Instead, you just have to see what’s tucked away in his garage – a mint Mars Red Mk2 Golf no less, and not just the bread and butter one. It’s a 16v GTi. Said Tom: “My family have owned VWs forever and my first proper car was a Mk5 Golf GTi at 21 when I could afford the insurance, and I spent years modifying it. It ended up with a fully built engine pushing out 550bhp, tuned by TSR Performance and…

“A friend mentioned he had a T5.1 Highline Kombi for sale and I ended up buying it and driving it home the same evening” There’s plenty of reasons why people gravitate toward Transporters. Often it happens after seeing a cool van at a show or maybe a van cruising locally that you’d love to see sat on your own drive. Rarely though do we meet someone who bought one on a whim. “It must have been 15 years ago when a friend mentioned he was selling a VW T4 2.4 van,” Andy recalls, “he was selling it for just £1000 so I thought it was worth a punt.” As Andy just happens to spend his workdays repairing HGVs, he wasn’t phased by the T4’s extensive corrosion which perhaps explained the…

Nestled in the rustic grounds of Birches Farm, just outside Bristol’s urban hustle, the 32nd Bristol Volksfest unfolded across 6-8 June 2025. With a captivating ‘Fiesta Mexicana’ theme, this weekend extravaganza once again delivered everything VW enthusiasts, and their families, dream of – classic rides, festival fun, and an infectious community spirit. Friday Kick Off: Sunshine, Syncros & Samba Friday dawned gloriously sunny. As visitors streamed in from 10am, grassy expanses quickly filled with air-cooled Beetles and Buses, Campervans and gleaming polished vehicles. The site, abuzz with greetings and grill aromas, offered an immediate immersion in VW culture. The Syncro and Buggy track became a fast crowd favourite, drawing excited roars as off-road builds tackled muddy bumps, jumps and bends. Meanwhile, live acoustic sets in the new ‘Road House’ area…