Molina 335i, RS4/RS6 and More - Garage Projects - Eurotuner Magazine

Molina 335i
We’ve been following Carlos Molina’s BMW 335i, which was recently painted and given a custom interior by Rollin’ Art in Vegas. The car then went to Al & Ed’s in Pasadena, CA for an audio/video transformation. Five tiny waterproof cameras were installed around the car, with each angle viewed in a quad format on a motorized 19" TFT-LCD monitor in the trunk. Another camera will broadcast on a 4.3" rearview monitor and, just for kicks, a second 17" TFT-LCD monitor will entertain a PS3.

Molded into the trunk are two 12" D612 subs in a fiberglass enclosure covered in black and gray suede. Two Diamond amps will power the subs, and two Hex H600 6.5 component sets will fill out the rest of the car.

All this will be finished in time to be viewed in the Excel booth in SEMA.

RS4/RS6
HT-Motorsport continues to build Project RS-X with its RS4 receiving an RS6 engine swap. The project is picking up speed as parts are beginning to be delivered. For example, they received new intake manifolds, which were cut and welded to fit the narrower bay and accommodate the fuel rails.

The block had its Nikasil sleeves fitted and all the internal rotating components are being zero-balanced before being cryogenically frozen to increase durability. The cylinder heads are also being shipped out to be CNC ported.

The shop has also started to focus on the chassis. The differential will be swapped for a long-nose B5 S4 part with a race-plate LSD. Suspension parts are currently being sourced.

The goal is to have the engine dynoed in about six weeks, so hopefully we’ll see the Frankenstein RSX come to life next month

Project Lupo
Introducing eurotuner Magazine’s newest project car – this ’01 VW Lupo GTI. Powered by a 1.6L 16v motor, the super-mini boasts 125hp, 112 lb-ft, the later ones had a six-speed manual and they weigh 2150 lb wet.

Built for 4-5 years, the GTI came with aluminum hood, front fenders and doors. However, the exotic parts were also the Achilles heel because the panels meant most cars were deemed to expensive to repair by insurance companies after even light damage. As a result, there are less than 900 of these cars in the UK.

Despite this, after a series of VW Jetta and GTI project cars, we thought it would be fun to do something different. So we found this Lupo needing some love in the UK.

Admittedly, the car doesn’t have much relevance to the US since you can’t buy one here, but we hope all VW enthusiasts would like to a) see what we’re missing and b) discover what you can do with one of these superminis if they ever bring something similar to the US.

We’ve already got a few select parts for the car, including a H&R Street Performance coilover kit and front sway bar. These should remove some of that fender gap and turn our rollerskate into a lower, stiffer rollerskate.

We’ve also got some 17x7" ET40 TSW Sepang wheels which dwarf the stock 15x6.5s. We hope to have these fitted in a jiffy and break for a nice cup of tea afterwards!

Rabbit AWD
Bluewater Performance is converting a Mk5 Rabbit into an AWD E85 racecar in preparation for the upcoming eurotuner GP. Gabe Adams, owner of BP, introduced us to the project, which has been stripped for Sparco Pro-Adv seats, six-point harnesses and a full cage.

The 2.5L block is at Ridge Reamer machine shop being honed. The head will be ported ’n polished and fitted with Intergrated Engineering cams. When the engine is back it will receive a dry sump to provide consistent lubrication.

The team is planning to remove the floor and create a new one from sheet metal and square tubing to house an all-wheel drive system from a ’08 R32, creating custom mounts for the Bora 4Motion transmission.

We’ll bring you an update next month.

Contact:
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