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Without bothering to get too deep into statistics, road rage is definitely on the rise. People in general are commuting more and more these days, averaging nearly 10 hours a week back and forth from work in stop-n-go traffic. When you take that into consideration, who wouldn’t want to freak out on some idiot carelessly cutting in front of you when you’re trapped in traffic?

Then again, a slick car with all of the right gadgets might solve most of your problems and bring the stress level down. Sure you aren’t going to find Robert Wang’s outrageous VW crawling along the 405 in rush hour traffic, but you get the idea. Being behind the wheel of a bad-man machine like this is clearly going to make the drive that much easier. If everyone had a sweet ride, more people would just slip away into their ‘happy place’ instead of getting all wound up and losing it on other drivers.

It was a real challenge to get the skinny on this hot Vee-Dub that Wang has been wrenching on for a few years. You see, our boy Robert Wang is from Taiwan and we found that out the hard way, as we had a bit of a language barrier to cross.

This proud TWCompetiton member purchased his VW GTI back in 2002, after having finished his previous project, a gangster old school Civic EF9! His rationale behind picking the GTI was simply “I love VW,” which is an odd statement to hear coming from a passionate Honda tuner. When we quizzed Wang’s translator on how much he dropped on all of that impressive gear inside his project car, “I don’t even want to total it all up,” Wang replied with a smile.

Don’t get it twisted, Wang clearly dropped some serious coin on every single area of this car inside and out. Under the hood you’ll see countless hours of labor and an untold amount of bank invested. The 3.2L VR6 was completely disassembled and machined at the hands of Euro Spec. Impex Motorsports was responsible for reassembling the motor with their full stroker kit, using proprietary rods and JE pistons. The heads were ported, polished and rebuilt using Ferrea titanium retainers and a Euro Spec headgasket clamped down with ARP studs. The unique twin charged forced induction set up utilizes an EIP Stage II turbo and VF Engineering supercharger! An EIP intake feeds the system where it heads into a VF engineering intercooler after the air is squished. The air finally reaches an HPA short runner intake manifold where it is mixed with fuel spit from six Bosch 770cc injectors. On the hot side of things, the exhaust for boost is regulated by a EIP Tuning wastegate before heading into an EIP Tuning downpipe and growling Milltek cat-back exhaust. To add a bit more fuel to the fire, an NX75 shot is directly ported into the plenum too!

The total tuning of this system was key to the whole project. This VR6 motor wasn’t designed for forced induction and now has a complex network of piping connecting a turbo and supercharger. This twin-charged set up gives the built VR6 engine some more low end torque, which aids in spooling up the turbo so it boosts seamlessly. EIP took care of the tuning with their own tuning software and the numbers are very respectable. An estimated 500whp with 415lb-ft of torque is generated from the German mill and that meant the stock driveline would also be in need an upgrade. A Euro Spec stage III clutch and flywheel were added along with a fortified transmission with a Quaife LSD to control wheel spin.

With the motor tuned to come correct, the focus shifted towards a show winning exterior treatment. Wang’s VW looks nothing like anything else on the VW scene. Many hardcore VW heads know it and pay respect to the amount of modification it has undergone. This is an all custom widebody built by the talented craftsman at Auto Explosion in Gardena, CA. The work also included shaved door handles, molding, emblems and the addition of LSD doors. An OEM R32 spoiler has been blended into the project in addition to OEM Euro GTI tails. The body was shot a gold base, then five coats of Kandy Apple Red from House of Kolor. The underbody has been fitted with Varad red lighting and some StreetGlow strobes to keep the crowds entranced with its display. The wheels on the project also turn many heads with their outrageous appearance. The Modsport S3s are finished in matching custom Kandy Apple Red with brushed aluminum finish and black painted rivets. The fronts are 19x10-inch wearing Falken FK452 275/30R19s with staggered 20x11-inch sporting 305/25R20 FK452s. Behind these sinister wheels are Britain’s finest, AP Racing brakes finished in (you guessed it)Kandy Apple Red. Up front, the binders are 4-piston clamping down on 330mm 2-piece rotors with 4-piston 308mm rotors in the back. The system is connected with full Goodridge stainless steel lines using Ferodo semi-race pads.

If you thought this project was nearly complete, think again. Wang still wanted some hardcore race-bred suspension parts installed on his creation and he turned to KW Suspensions for their Variant 3 coilovers. The KW Variant 3 coilovers would enable all kinds of adjustability and work well in conjunction with Autotech front and rear sway bars, chromed before installation. The front and rear control arms are also chromed along with a VF Enigneering sway bar link to complete the show car look from top to bottom.

The interior is where Wang and his TWCompetition brethren went off the chain to snatch up countless awards at event after event. The dash is completely custom made of fiberglass and coated in color-matched candy paint. The custom dash houses a 10-inch touch-screen Car PC and Defi gauges including: boost, FPR, EGT, oil pressure, oil and water temp. There is also an Auto Meter D-Pic gauge onboard to keep tabs on performance numbers. The steering wheel is a Nardi piece with an NR>G quick release and the shifter is from an R32 Golf. The Recaro Pole Position XL seats are fitted with Schroth 4-point harnesses and customized with a Kandy Apple Red backing and flawless red suede inserts. The doors carry the same red suede treatment surround by custom fiberglass panels coated in the exterior paint scheme. The interior ambiance is capped with Varad red LED lighting throughout.

On to the audio and multimedia barrage, Wang went big with some jaw dropping Alpine F#1 Status components. The headunit is an Alpine F1 Status IVA-D990 7-inch LCD screen with an Alpine F#1 Status equalizer to trim the signals. The clean stream is sent to a trio of Alpine MRV-F430 mid-range amps to pump up the volume to six Diamond Audio D9 7-inch components and matching Diamond Audio D9 tweeters with the crossovers built into the doors. The low-end frequencies are ported into a pair of Alpine MRD-M1001 amps driving both Diamond Audio D9 12-inch subs individually. The subs are mounted in a custom color-matched sealed fiberglass enclosure with a custom hatch install of speakers and screens. A pair of 7-inch monitors are found in the visors and a Sony Playstation is onboard for some gaming entertainment. The entire car was wrapped head to toe in Dynamat for an ideally solid sounding sealed chamber. The system is connected with Monster Cable for audio signals and powered up by an Optima Yellow Top with an additional Optima Red Top to run the car itself.

Wang has truly rewritten the rulebook in the VW class and always been a true threat in Wild. He has deserved and earned multiple awards in 2008 and looks to cause even more commotion throughout the 2009 show season. When we asked Wang about the number of awards, he just smiled and said there were too many to list. In a sense, he’s right and boasting isn’t his style. Wang built this car for himself and not ego-driven bragging rights. And to his credit, Wang and TWC still recieve recognition at every event this car is entered. We look forward to see how he will top himself in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE ESSENTIALS

Location: Rosemead, CA
Vehicle: 2002 Volkswagen GTI
IPower: 500whp with 415lb-ft