Archive for Volkswagen

The TUNE IT! SAFE! program is an initiative by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, the VDAT (Association of German Car Tuners) and Messe Essen (Essen trade fair company) and is held in conjunction with the Essen Motor Show every year, which for 2008 is coincidentally this month.

According to the organizers, German car enthusiasts spend as much as 4.4 billion Euros every year to modify their cars! There is of course safe tuning and modification with proper tested and proven accessories and there is of course inferior, inexpensive pirated copies of products. In fact, you could even call aftemarket HID kits which are not really engineered to point its beam properly as an unsafe modification.

Every year the TUNE IT! SAFE! program has prime examples of good and safe modification on display and this year there is this nice police-liveried Volkswagen Scirocco you see here. Look for more photos of it after the jump.

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Volkswagen has added a front wheel drive option to the Trend & Fun variant of its Volkswagen Tiguan in Germany, probably to improve emissions ratings across its product range as well as offer a more fuel efficient vehicle for those who do not require the extra weight of all-wheel drive equipment.

Word is that even the upcoming BMW X1 will have a two wheel drive option, which means an alternative for front wheel drive must be found for BMW’s “xDrive30i” etc naming system for its SUVs.

The new front wheel drive Tiguan is available with either a 1.4 liter TSI or a 2.0 liter TDI engine. We Malaysians get the top of the line Track & Field version with all-wheel drive, a higher ride height, an increased approach angle and offroader looks.

The Volkswagen Transporter T5 is a commercial vehicle that was launched in 2003 replacing the old T4 model. It’s versatile and configurable like the Weststar Maxus LDV and back in school I have known of some very rich families that actually own and use such vehicles as a people mover instead of a goods mover whenever they need to entertain a large group of people. The Caravelle model in the UK offers plenty of space for 6 to 7 people and creature comforts such as tables and refrigerators.

The most powerful version of the Transporter you can buy now is the 235 horsepower, 315Nm of torque 3.2 liter V6 version. The most torquey is the 2.5 liter inline-5 TDI turbodiesel with 174 horsepower and 400Nm of torque.

But what if you wanted a more powerful version…

German tuners Claer probably got inspired by the Brabus Viano V8, a commercial van with a 6.1 liter V8 engine producing 426 horsepower and 621Nm of torque. You could probably just turbocharge the 3.2 liter V6 engine but Claer decided to do what the Volkswagen tuners of the past have done, plonk a Porsche engine in!

A twin-turbocharged flat-6 engine from the 996 Porsche 911 is used in the Claer T5, producing a Viano V8-beating 680 horsepower and 720Nm of torque. It can reach a top speed of 300km/h. For additional stability at those speeds and for better cornering ability, the ride height has been lowered by nearly 75mm.

Additional stopping power is provided by the upgraded brakes which use 380 x 32 mm discs with 6-pot calipers in the front and 330 x 28 mm discs with 4-pot calipers in the rear, which can stop the van from 100km/h in just under 40 meters.

Perhaps a new installment of the movie The Transporter might feature this monster one day if Jason Statham ever needs to transport something much larger than his luxury sedans can fit.

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This is probably the cheapest way to get more power out of your Volkswagen Scirocco without any other fluff. A simple chip thats priced at 849 Euros from MCCHIP brings your Volkswagen Scirocco 2.0 TFSI up from 200 horsepower to 246 horsepower and 346Nm of torque. These tuners really make tuning up turbo cars sound so easy!

Of course, if you desire anything more then the MCCHIP demo car here also features a stiffer performance suspension from H&R, 19 inch wheels wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 235/35ZZR19 tyres, and a performance exhausts system.

I wonder if Volkswagen Malaysia has any plans to offer the Scirocco here. The 2.0 TFSI Scirocco would priced at a premium above the Golf GTI would probably sell, as considering the amount of Mk5 GTIs running around here it’s starting to look boring.

BTW don’t you find it weird that all the demo kitted up Volkswagens from the tuners have so far all been done up in a white colour scheme? I was in Singapore over the weekend and saw a Volkswagen exhibition at Vivo City and all the cars were white too.

White is still the new black!

Click here to read the rest of MCCHIP VW Scirocco: 246hp for 849 Euros

While pushing the Scirocco 2.0 TSI up to 240 PS, OETTINGER has not abandoned the smaller displacement 1.4 liter TSI version of the Volkswagen Scirocco, with the smaller-engined sibling getting a power boost up to 200 PS. This allows a Volkswagen Scirocco 1.4 TSI owner that somewhere during his time of ownership regrets not getting the 2.0 liter version to enjoy 2.0 TSI-like power!

The 2.0 TSI engine holds more potential of course as OETTINGER has promised a more powerful tuning kit later which can take the engine up to 350 PS and a massive 470Nm of torque. This kit will include a polished stainless steel performance exhaust system, a new turbocharger and a larger intercooler to handle the increased pressure.

The car you see right here features 20 inch OETTINGER Type RXX wheels, a carbon interior, stainless steel kick plates, and aluminium pedals, but OETTINGER promises a tuned adjustable suspension system and larger brakes in the future when the 350 PS kit is released. Look after the jump for a rear view of the OETTINGER Scirocco.

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Motoren Technik Mayer, or better known as MTM, has pimped out the Volkswagen Scirocco with both aesthetics and performance tuning and the result is what you see above – the MTM Volkswagen Scirocco R.

The stock power figures of 200 PS from the 2.0 liter TFSI engine is taken up to 272 horsepower via a reflash, and MTM even gives you the option to upgrade this to 380 horsepower, though that kind of power is beyond just a rechip and requires a few hardware upgrades. The 272 PS is achieved at 6,080rpm while torque is up to 350Nm at 3,480rpm, not very flat anymore but its the price to pay for higher performance. A torque peak like that should also give a nice “boost kicked in” surge. The 272 PS engine upgrade kit costs 5,285 Euros and also comes with a MTM exhaust system.

The aesthetics kit actually only consists of one hardware part – the MTM bimoto 20 inch wheels which cost 5,500 Euros. Additional stopping power is provided by a brake kit which costs 4,427 Euros and gives you VA 380mm x 34mm discs with 8-piston brake calipers. For tighter handling, an MTM sports suspension is available for 1,489 Euros.

So, with the base price for the 2.0 TFSI Scirocco at 31,160 Euros and all the MTM kit slapped on, the MTM Scirocco R should cost you a total of 47,871 Euros. Lose the wheels (which I personally would – 20 inches is just to much) and its cheaper at 42,361 Euros.

More images can be found after the jump.

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A total of 5 Volkswagen cars have managed to get the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick award for 2009 – the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Volkswagen Rabbit (called the Golf outside of the US), the Volkswagen Jetta, the Volkswagen Passat and the Volkswagen Eos.

IIHS says the winners offer superior overall crash protection among the vehicles in their classes, and to quality it must earn the highest rating in the IIHS front, side and rear crash tests. It also must have some form of stability control, and IIHS says it is now a trend for ESP to be standard on all trim levels in a model range. The EuroNCAP also recently announced that it has revised its rating system to make it impossible to get 5-stars if ESP is not a standard feature.

This kind of puts into perspective how far behind Proton is in terms of its safety feature offerings in Malaysia. Nevermind as standard, what about optional? We’re still waiting for some form of stability control to be offered at least as an option on a Proton car… and you can say the same about side airbags.

Unlike most other car manufacturers who usually procure hybrid and electric drive components from third party manufacturers (Tesla is one company that acts as a supplier), Volkswagen intends to produce all of its hybrid components excluding battery cells on its own, so that the company can master the technology and increase chances for a competitive edge.

A concept hybrid Volkswagen was unveiled earlier this year based on the Mark 5 Volkswagen Golf. It featured a combination of an electric motor backed by lithium ion batteries as the main method of propulsion, assisted by either a TSI petrol engine or a TDI diesel engine whenever needed. According to Volkswagen, a 100km test journey from Potsdam to Berlin took only 8kWh of electricity and 2.5 liters of fuel.

Source

Volkswagen’s entry for the 2009 Dakar rally is the Volkswagen Race Touareg 2. Four units of these offroad racing monsters will be piloted by Spaniard Carlos Sainz and his French navigator Michel Perlin; Giniel de Villiers (South Africa) and Dirk von Zitzewith (Germany); Mark Miller (USA) and Ralph Pitchford (South Africa) and Dieter Depping partnered with fellow German Timo Gottschalk.

The Race Touareg 2 is built from an aluminium tube frame, with the body panels fitted over it, much like how the Racing Lancer is constructed. The racers will be supported by a team of support and service trucks. The racers and the support trucks together with parts and equipment will be shipped to Le Havre, France for scrutineering before being shipped over to South America for the Dakar race.

Powering the Race Touareg 2 racers are 2.5 liter TDI engines which can produce 280 PS, build by Volkswagen Motorsport in Hanover, Germany.

Look after the jump for photos of the tube frame.

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The Volkswagen Bora for the Chinese Market goes on sale today, priced between 107,800 to 143,00 yuan, which translates to about between RM55,900 to RM74,570. This particular Bora was designed for the Chinese market and is about the same size as the Volkswagen Jetta it is based on.

Volkswagen says the car’s design is inspired by Chinese elements such as the front end of the car which is apparently inspired by the Chinese lion dance. The Bora is 4540mm long, 1775mm wide and 1467mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2610mm and a boot space of 450 liters. It will be produced by Volkswagen’s JV partner First Automotive Works.

Two engine options will be available at launch – both gasoline engines. Either a manual or a 6-speed automatic is available. Two equipment levels are available – a Trendline and a Comfortline. Standard features on the Trendline include ABS, dual front SRS airbags, power steering, power windows, climate control and a MP3 capable CD player with radio.

The Comfortline package adds 15 inch alloy wheels, a sliding sunroof, a chrome trim package, an alarm, cruise control, and parking sensors. An additional “highline” package can be specified which includes leather seats, side and head airbags as well as a GPS navigation system.

Look after the jump for more photos of the new Chinese market Volkswagen Bora.

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