| VW Passat R GT Editorial - Behind The Wheel
Finally We Get A Bigger Mag, But What Exactly Do You Want To See In It?
After two years of pleading we finally got the management to make the mag 30% bigger. So what are we going to do with all this extra richness? Well, we added a few pages to some of our regular items - things like Readers' Rides, Letters and News (although some pages were subsequently cut to make room for ads - have to pay the bills, etc).
We also gave more pages to the feature cars and the events. However, the area we're hoping to concentrate on is tech. We know this has been our big weakness for years, particularly after losing our Tech Ed a while back. So we've been searching for interesting tech stories and you should be seeing the fruits of our labor over the next few months. Admittedly we had a few more for this issue but again, pages got cut...
Just to whet your appetites, we've already got tests on three different chip and exhaust combinations for the 2.0T in the pipeline. Two of these are fitted to our own GLI and GTI project cars, so we can report on how they actually run, not just on the numbers.
We'll be looking at some TDI tuning as well, thanks to a Mk1 conversion we have kicking around. Don't worry, the 1.8T won't be forgotten. New boy Sam Du has a GTI that's going to get more work done to it. And the VR6 is always a favorite of ours. Oh, and we've got the 323ci project that's getting some parts.
We're working on plenty of stuff but it takes time to get it fitted, dynoed and in the mag. However, we can guarantee you'll start to see a change very soon: next month, hopefully.
Oh, and the et poster is back by popular demand. Last year we included one in every issue for about six months. A decision was made to stop doing them for a while, but the outcry was such that we've brought them back so you can plaster your walls with the best Euros in the land.
Speaking of Sam, I should introduce him. He's a Seattle boy, relocated to the smog of LA. You may recognize his name from the freelance articles he's been submitting for the past year or more. He's a pretty useful photographer and a diehard VW fan. In fact, his 1.8T is a regular showgoer along the west coast, so he knows the scene and will be a great asset to the mag. Remember to say hello at shows and don't be afraid to hassle him to feature your car.
On p44 of this issue you'll see the new Passat R GT body kit. We were kindly invited to be the first magazine to experience this new conversion, and after what happened we'll probably be the last!
It's all in the story but the car was in a collision on its way to meet us. Unfortunately, it received extensive damage to the front bumper. We spoke to Robert Gal from VWoA after he took delivery of his battered 2.0T and it looks as if those pre-production parts will never again see the light of day. Apparently he's going to wait for the polyurethane production parts, which would've easily survived the accident. We're just sorry we were unable to show the full impact of that front end in our photos. Even in its damaged state, and with cardboard pieces I taped into place to represent some of the damaged uprights in the grilles, it still received a warm reception from New Yorkers. People went out of their way to come and admire the car's clean lines and everybody felt it was both classy and very European.
To be honest, we were very excited by the reception this car got, especially in mind of the other VW body kits that are in the pipeline and the new projects that are underway for SEMA 2006.
It took us a while to get the information out of our VW sources but we're told the GTI will be center stage at this year's event, and the design team is already thinking about production possibilities. So don't be surprised to see several different versions of the GTI. We're hoping for something wide and sexy, as well as something more practical for the next Votex body kit. You'll also see the Passat in the booth, once its nose has been fixed.
Greg Emmerson
Editor
eurotuner@primedia.com