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SUPERCHARGED FIESTA ST150

Louis has owned and modified plenty of Fiestas in his time, and he’s combined all the lessons learnt to create the best yet; this beautifully aggressive, 300bhp-plus supercharged Fiesta ST150.

Feature from Fast Ford. Words and photos: Jon Cass

When the Mk6 Fiesta ST150 was launched back in 2005, it was seen as a huge step in the right direction for Ford. After a decade of mediocre warm hatches, with only a handful of exceptions such as the Racing Puma dripping through the mainstay of sensible motoring, here, finally, was a true hot hatch with the power and agility to match. Ford had returned to its days of dominating the streets with icons such as the Fiesta XR2 and XR3i.

31-year-old Louis Thompson has been a big fan of the Mk6 Fiesta ST, and Fords in general, for as long as he can remember. “My dad had a Sierra estate, a couple of Mondeos including an ST24 before moving on to a Focus ST,” Louis remembers, “Fords have always played a major part of my life.”

Once Louis had passed his test aged 17, he went out and bought an insurance-friendly Mk6 Fiesta Zetec S. “I’d soon modified it with window tints, Lexus rear lights, diamond-cut RS7s and lowered suspension,” he smiles, “this gave me the bug and I went on a full shopping spree to turn it into an ST replica.”

Not only did the Zetec S end up with a full ST bodykit and interior, Louis also swapped-in a tuned ST 2.0-litre engine too. My mum hated the thing and made me sell it, so I put a deposit down on a Focus ST,” Louis laughs, “unfortunately by the time I went to buy the car, my only reasonable insurance quote had expired, so I ended up losing out on the car and lost my deposit.” This costly episode didn’t put Louis off and he still had the funds to bag himself a decent, genuine Mk6 ST150 which already came with a few choice upgrades in place, including a full Piper exhaust, Dreamscience map, and K&N filter – so all was not lost!

“I was still only 19 at the time, so typically I opted for a huge sound system in the boot and slammed it on Weitec coilovers,” Louis laughs, “I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread at the time.” It soon became apparent Louis didn’t feel at home being part of the ‘low-and-slow’ scene so out went the sound system, the coilovers were raised and more significantly he bolted in one of Jamsport’s Stage 2 Supercharger kits. “It was running 250bhp and I loved the thing,” he remembers, “but I’d just started in the motor trade and was keen to find my own place, so I stripped the mods and sold it.”

Pretty soon Louis was missing having a Ford to tinker around with and before he knew it, he was the latest owner of a Mk5 Fiesta Zetec S full-blown track car running throttle bodies. “What I hadn’t realised was I’d bought a bit of a lemon and it blew up within a few weeks,” Louis laughs, “I spent another grand having it rebuilt then sold it.”

Work promotion soon came and so did a house purchase which had the benefit of a double garage. “I was into my bikes by now, but the huge garage was wasted just having a single motorbike parked in the middle of it,” Louis grins, “we went on holiday and I ended up buying a Mk1 Fiesta with a 1.8-litre Zetec and bike carbs over the internet!” The Mk1 had only 55k on the clock from new and was in great condition other than for two tiny patches of rust. “I only ever used it in the dry and polished it every week without fail,” Louis recalls, “then one day it failed to start. My garage has a bit of a slope to the entrance, and I was struggling to push it back in.” Rather than leave it out in the elements or call for recovery, Louis took his unique route of stripping the Fiesta, so it was light enough to push! “Once it had been stripped, I soon realized I’d started another full rebuild project,” Louis smiles, “I ended up doing all the work myself on that one except for the paint. It had a full XR2 kit, retrimmed bucket seats in Supersport cloth, and I flocked every part of the interior I could think of.” The Mk1 also benefited from custom Bravo stripes in an XR2 style and diamond-cut pepperpot alloys!

“I took it to Ford Fair in 2013, parked it up when I got back and didn’t use it again for three years, “ Louis laughs, “I ended up selling it and didn’t have much involvement with cars for a while.”

Supercharged dreams

As the years passed, fond memories of that first supercharged Fiesta ST150 returned, Louis was keen to continue from where he’d left off with his favourite Fiesta to date. “I wanted to start from scratch with a good example this time and I soon came across this 2005 ST with just 18,000 miles on the clock,” he recalls, “it was immaculate and already had these wheels, the TRC low line kit and a cat back exhaust.” It also came with a horrendous set of cheap coilovers too!

Initially, this latest ST seemed ready to take on track without having to make any drastic changes, the Team Dynamic Pro Race alloys were even wrapped in grippy Michelin Pilot Sport tyres. That plan soon changed and off came the under-bonnet chrome plates and covers and whilst on holiday again, Louis ordered a pair of Corbeau Clubsport bucket seats with OMP harnesses. “Once I’d returned from holiday, I came across an ad for a modified ST that had been written off and was being stripped,” Louis recalls, “I bought the full Milltek system from this car along with the bigger EVO 2 manifold and Whiteline rear anti-roll bar.”

Things were beginning to progress quickly and Louis was soon on the phone to Jamsport, “I’d had a test drive in one of their supercharged Fiesta ST150 demo cars back in 2008 running 320bhp and it put a huge smile on my face,” he remembers, “if mine turned out anything like that one then I knew I’d be happy.” After a discussion with Jamie, Louis opted for the Stage 2.5 Rotrex C30 supercharger kit and began sourcing the relevant parts to make the conversion worthwhile. “I found an Auto Specialists inlet for a bargain £90 and a genuine 60mm throttle body,” he points out, “I then did the relocation of the power steering pump in preparation for the supercharger myself.” The remainder of Louis’ set up is well matched; the 440cc injectors, Airtec intercooler and supercharger oil cooler demonstrating this build has been well thought out, not just for performance but to stand the test of time too. The uprated Ford Focus ST170 front and rear brakes had already come with the car, which was a huge bonus, but those cheap coilovers were still likely to let the side down.

“I couldn’t find any coilovers I wanted so I had the supercharger fitted first along with the other ancillaries I’d bought at Jamsport,” Louis tells us. After some tweaking and fettling the car made 311bhp and 258lb.ft torque with an awesome linear curve, so Louis was pleased to say the least! “The drive home was unreal, in every gear it flies and the hard-cut limiter Jamie installed set at 6800rpm sounds like gunfire! First and second gear comes and goes so quick, it feels like I should be setting off in third!” Speaking of transmission, Louis has had the ST150 gearbox fully rebuilt and fitted with a Quaife LSD while he’s also opted for a stronger Sachs 4-paddle clutch and TTV lightened flywheel.

Stickier Nankang tyres came next, then after a recommendation Louis replaced the cheap suspension with a set of BC Racing BR-V2 coilovers along with camber adjusters which have made a huge difference. “I still wanted the car to stand out visually even though it now sounded like a jet fighter,” Louis laughs, “so I added the racing decals in fluorescent yellow and resprayed the wheels to match.”

Inside everything has been stripped out in order to save weight as you’d expect. Gone is the immaculate 18,000-mile interior, well other than for the door cards and headlining which retain at least some refinement! In addition to those Corbeau seats and OMP harnesses, Louis has fitted a cool OMP snap-off steering wheel connected to an NRG hub and BG Racing snap-off kit.

This whole project has been well thought out, and Louis’ vast experience of Fiestas over the years has certainly come in handy. Other than the fitment of the supercharger, he’s managed to tackle the rest of the work himself in his spare time all within six months. “The problem I have is once I get stuck in, I start to forget about all the other things I should be doing,” Louis laughs, “my best mate often gets called unexpectedly to help out and he’s had to break away from his own Mk3 Fiesta build, we always get there in the end though!”

It’s the supercharger itself that Louis can’t get enough of “The way the power comes in, it’s more like a turbo and not your average supercharger,” he tells us, “on full boost at 13psi its mental, the power kicks in just before 4000rpm and it takes off!” Not only is the power itself addictive, the noise it makes on full boost always has Louis smiling too. “I’ve taken passengers out on track in this car and they’ve always come back with a huge grin on their face,” he adds.

Projects like this are never fully completed and Louis plans to add an oil cooler next along with a rear roll cage to complete that track car look. “I may even forge the engine and add some cams, but I’ve seen many STs on stock internals cope with up to 330bhp, so we’ll just see how it lasts,” he tells us.

He’s also got his eye on a follow up project in the shape of a Mk6 Ford Fiesta running a Cosworth YB, but for now it seems he’s quite content with his awesome supercharged Fiesta ST150.

Tech Spec: Supercharged Fiesta ST150

Engine:

2.0-litre ST Duratec engine, Jamsport Stage 2.5 supercharger Kit, Rotrex C30 centrifugal supercharger, Pipercross air filter, Airtec intercooler, Auto Specialists inlet, oil cooler for the supercharger, 440cc injectors, 60mm throttle body, Milltek exhaust inc. EVO 2 manifold, mapped by Jamie at Jamsport, JS Performance power steering relocation kit, mountune short shifter, Magnecor HT leads, NGK spark plugs

Power:

311bhp & 258lb.ft

Transmission:

Rebuilt ST150 gearbox, Quaife ATB diff, Sachs Race Engineering 4-paddle clutch, TTV lightened flywheel

Suspension:

BC Racing BR-V2 coilovers with camber adjusters, Whiteline rear anti-roll bar, fully polybushed throughout, OMP front strut brace

Brakes:

Fronts: Focus ST170 300mm front brake upgrade with J-hook discs and Ferodo DS2500 pads.
Rears: Focus ST170 280mm rear brake upgrade with J-hook discs and Ferodo DS2500 pads

Wheels & tyres:

15in Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 alloys, Nankang NS2R 195/50×15 track day tyres

Exterior:

Fiesta ST bodykit, full TRC low line kit and rear diffuser, custom stripes, Ford Racing bonnet raisers, red and black Ford badges, front fog lights removed, Auto Specialists tow strap, 300mm sunstrip, race numbers

Interior:

Corbeau Clubsport bucket seats with 3in black OMP 4-point harnesses, OMP Target snap-off steering wheel, NRG hub with BG Racing snap-off kit, most of interior stripped apart from front door cars and headlining

Source

June 3, 2021
TUNED MK4 SUPRA: FAR BEYOND DRIVEN

Tearing across Scotland, devil horns aloft, we find a seriously hardcore tuned Mk4 Supra rekindling the spirit of the nineties with an angry modern twist…

Fast Car magazine. Words: Joe Partridge

There was a bit of a gulf between Metallica albums in the early 1990s. The eponymous record which everyone colloquially refers to as ‘The Black Album’ changed the metal game in ’91, but it would be a full five years until they followed it up with the controversial Load. Helping to fill the void came Pantera’s Far Beyond Driven in early ’94; arguably more groove metal than thrash metal, it ticked the hardcore boxes for the faithful, and tied into the prevailing social trends of the time. See, the automotive sphere was pretty metal then too – the Japanese invasion of big-power GTs designed for the US market created a clutch of cars designed specifically for blasting down the Pacific Coast Highway with the throttle pinned, metal blaring on the stereo, the fast-paced drumming and relentless riffs spurring the driver on to ever higher planes of speed.

James Dron can tell you all about this. As well as owning the tuned Mk4 Supra you see here, he also plays guitar in Ray Brower and a variety of other metal bands, sharing festival stages with the likes of Slayer and Deep Purple. “My favourite bands – Metallica, Slayer, Sylosis, Pantera – provide a great driving soundtrack,” he grins. “It’s easy to get carried away on a backroad with fast, aggressive metal accompanying you!”

A tuned Mk4 Supra is very much a guitarist’s car too. While a drummer may lumber about in a Volvo estate, necessary for carting around the massive kick drums and cymbal stands, shredders’ rides are inherently more rock ‘n’ roll. And it’s fair to say that Supras have been a key part of James’s life right from the early days. “Ever since I played Gran Turismo on my first PlayStation back in 1997, I wanted a Supra,” he explains. “I’ve modified every car I’ve owned, right back to my first one, a Mk5 Golf; insurance prices were ridiculous for the GTI/R32 and I was 18 at the time, so I ended up with a 1.4 – but I bought some Mercedes S600 ‘6-slot’ monoblocks, KW V2 coilovers and a full R32 bodykit. It had a Powerflow exhaust and was as low as the coilovers could go!”

This really gave him a taste for modding, and by the time he was 21 James was driving a white Mk4 Supra SZ, wonderfully fulfilling those childhood gaming dreams – it was an NA model that the previous owner had swapped the twin-turbo motor into, albeit retaining the 5-speed ’box. Hell of a ride for a 21-year-old, and after four years of thrashing around in it he decided to buy a full-fat, ‘correct’ 6-speed TT. And that’s the car you see here.

Tuned Mk4 Supra: The Breakthrough

It wasn’t a simple case of buying the right car and instantly winning at life, however. In 2014 James broke his ankle, necessitating getting an automatic to give the break a, er, break, and this brought on a slew of alternative choices; a quirky Honda SMX got him about for a while, then another, and then he found himself dailying a Mk5 Golf GTI before trying (and failing) to be sensible with a Saab 9-3 TiD. All the while, though, the Supra was waiting in the wings for its time to shine. And one day, in a moment of madness, he decided to buy another Supra with the idea of it being a parts car for the main build: once again, it was an NA 5-speed with a 2JZ conversion, an ex-Banzai feature car which yielded its red leather seats for the ‘main’ Supra as well as a set of WORK Meister S1s, which will be swapped over soon. “Having this second Supra means that I have a contingency of a lot of parts should anything go awry with the other one,” reasons James, and you can’t really argue with that. “I have a whole spare 2JZ-GTE at my disposal! I just need to decide whether this second Supra is salvageable and I put it back on the road, or if I look to build the engine on the side ready to put into the first Supra…”

The agony of choice, eh? And by this time he really was champing at the bit to get cracking with the build. After all, it was already in excellent order and superb spec – the perfect base for what he was planning. “The car was in fantastic condition when it came into the country – only 30k miles on the chassis on arrival, and I’ve only put another 20k on it in the last seven years,” he says. “It had a Ridox front bumper, OEM sideskirts, OEM Recaro ‘confetti’ passenger seat, Recaro SPG fixed-bucket driver seat, AVS 5 wheels (in black with red lips), and Tein Superstreet coilovers when it was imported. I wasn’t a fan of the bumper in isolation – I like it with the full Ridox kit, but not by itself – and I detested the wheels, so I fitted an OEM facelift front bumper and some CCW 3-piece rims. The wheel spec was such that the front arches needed rolling and the rears were slightly flared to avoid scuffing. The single turbo conversion had already been carried out, and the car was tuned by HKS Kansai in Japan – it was sitting at 650bhp, ready to play!”

The arch work was arranged by the company who sourced and imported the car, JM-Imports, following which James rolled up his sleeves and got busy with fitting the HKS Kansai carbon front splitter and Shine Auto carbon rear diffuser. The car also ran an APR GTC-300 carbon rear wing for a while, and a set of BC Racing coilovers were fitted – because the Teins were wound all the way down, but simply weren’t low enough for James’s liking!

“At one point the HKS GD clutch failed,” he continues, “and was replaced with an HKS LA twin-plate clutch by a garage that I can’t remember the name of… just as well I can’t, as they did a terrible job and caught the rear crank seal when doing it, so the clutch got contaminated with oil and was as good as dead 2,000 miles later! So this was again replaced by me and Daniel Johnston at DJ Autos with the current RPS Carbon triple-plate unit.”

Trials and tribulations are all part of the game of course, and thankfully the next step proved to be a pretty stellar success: James commissioned Toole Design in Lochgelly, Fife to fully repaint the car in an Aston Martin shade called Storm Black, which is a beautifully sinister black with a devilish red flake that pops out in the sun. “They also fitted the UK-spec rear bumper and Ridox sideskirts at this time,” he says, “Various little bits were welded up too, like the rear washer nozzle, aerial and so on, and the front plate mount was removed.”

Supraman

Everything was looking very slick, so it was inevitable that something would now break in order to restore the natural balance of the universe. Pulling a burnout on the startline at a Banzai event at Crail, the stock small-case diff chipped a few teeth and the propshaft completely twisted. Always one to see opportunity in crisis, James’s tactic to make sure that wouldn’t happen again was to beef everything up, bolting in an SRD heavy-duty prop and getting Craig Shand at Clarke Motorsport to swap in a stronger A02B diff.

“All in all, I guess the build hasn’t been a gigantic undertaking as such, but rather a wealth of visual incarnations while always staying relatively close to stock,” he muses. “And there have certainly been plans which have resulted in some poor decisions being made – I bought a Syvecs S6 ECU and some HKS 264 intake and exhaust cams in preparation for a modern turbo upgrade, but then sold them to fund the paintjob; I wish that I never did that, as the OEM Astral Black paint wasn’t that bad, I was just being picky and keeping up appearances from the high standard of cars at shows. A definite mistake as I prefer driving the car to attending static shows, yet it would seem I went completely against that!”

On the contrary, we wouldn’t call that a mistake at all. James is evidently into Supra ownership for the long haul (indeed, we get the feeling that after seven years he’s really just getting started), and it makes sense to give the exterior a unique twist. After all, with 650bhp to play with, it’s not as if he was sacrificing performance for looks. Now he’s got the complete package, and a perfect base for future power upgrades. And it’s clearly not just the man behind the wheel who gets to enjoy it: “People’s reactions have always been very positive,” he smiles. “The Supra gets photographed a lot, I get asked a lot of questions about it, and any time I’m on the street someone always, always wants to race with me. I never get any peace, be it Vauxhall VXRs, RS Audis, GT-Rs, exotics – anything!”

He’s certainly playing to a raucous crowd. James admits that when he was originally looking for this particular Mk4 Supra, he was also considering a Dodge Viper or a TVR Tuscan. “I still feel like I made the right choice,” he says, and we have to agree. While those other sports cars are all well and good, there’s nothing more metal than a badass nineties tuned Mk4 Supra. Strength beyond strength, keeping that throttle pinned and that turbo spooling hard, all nightmare long.

Tech Spec: Tuned Mk4 Supra

Styling:

Full respray in Aston Martin AST5052D Storm Black (black with red flake), HKS Kansai carbon fibre front splitter, Ridox carbon sideskirts, UK-spec rear bumper

Tuning:

2JZ-GTE VVTi, GReddy T88-34D 22cm2 turbo, GReddy stainless 45mm exhaust manifold, GReddy Type R wastegate, GReddy AirInx 2 intake, 4-inch DJ Autos downpipe and mid-pipe, Sard 850cc injectors, HKS F-Con V Pro ECU, GReddy PRofec B Spec-II boost controller, Sard fuel pressure regulator, Whifbitz 4-inch titanium exhaust system, Trust 4-inch front-mount intercooler, GReddy oil cooler kit, screamer pipe, OEM Getrag V161 6-speed gearbox, RPS Carbon triple-plate clutch, RPS lightened flywheel, OEM A02B Torsen LSD (3.769:1 ratio), SRD heavy-duty propshaft

Chassis:

Custom 9.5×18-inch +24 (front) and 11.5×18-inch +37 (rear) CCW LM5T 3-piece wheels – fully polished, 245/40 (f) and 295/30 (r) Toyo R888 tyres, BC Racing BR coilovers, chromed TRD strut brace, OEM ‘EU-spec’ brakes (4-pot fronts with 323mm discs, 2-pot rears with 324mm discs), Chris Wilson fast road pads

Interior:

Recaro SR5 seats on Bride RO rails, Defi DSSC digital dash (boost, water temp, oil temp, oil pressure, fuel pressure, volts), Nardi Deep Corn 350mm steering wheel, Driftworks quick-release hub, Top Secret gearknob, Carrozzeria head unit with OEM subwoofer

Source

June 2, 2021
MK1 GOLF TRACK CAR: ‘RING KING

The Golf that went Dutch, got re-registered and TÜV approved in Germany, and is now a forty-year-old tax-free ‘Ring legend. Here is Marco’s Mk1 Golf track car.

Feature from Performance VW. Words: Chris Eyre. Photos: Tony Matthews. Opening image: Oliver Kälke

A picture tells a thousand words’? Hmmmm. Balls out at Pflanzgarten, Nurgburgring, a foot in the air at 90mph, into a fourth-to-fifth gear right hander. The Nürburgring is full of motor racing legends but Touristenfahrten – public ‘tourist’ driving – has its own. Hands up who remembers the ‘Ring Mini Clubman van, star of many online videos in the Noughties? Well here’s another. So when Editor Roberts got in touch to say he’d pinned down Dutchman Marco Veldhuis’s Mk1 Golf track toy, the sense of anticipation was palpable. Dubbers from the Nineties know Marco anyway. We all know people by their cars, right? Or at least his previous car.

So who remembers a metallic black 16v G60 Mk2 Golf (PVW 10/01) that turned up to GTI International 2001 at TRL Crowthorne on 19″, five-spoke wheels? Well he’d made those centre-locking rims complete with hidden valves himself. Marco, a hydraulic engineer based in the east of Holland, who appears to be phased by nothing, quips: “My motto is ‘What you can’t buy, you can make!’” The stuff of legend and he still owns it.

In parallel with the Mk2, Marco takes up the Mk1 Golf track car story; “In ’97 I started going with friends for day trips to the Nürburgring, until early 2000 when we started going with our club in Holland for a complete weekend.” Marco duly picked up an early grey 1979 Mk1 GTI: “In 2003 I bought the car in Germany with the normal 1.6-litre GTI engine and started driving the Nürburgring in October 2004. I ended up doing 102 laps in two weekends! So yeah that’s when my ‘sickness’ for the Nürburgring started! 550 Laps in 2005, I then changed the engine to an 1.8-litre 8v GTI, and drove again until the middle of 2006. After this the serious rebuild started…”

“I drove the body shell to Belgium for a ‘bath’ to get rid of the paint and underseal. I then seam welded the whole shell and installed a big roll cage and painted the car on my own in RAL5009 because we had our own machine paintshop. We picked this colour because we had four friends with Mk1s painted the same shade.” For some years they all had instantly-recognisable ‘Roma Tuning’ stickers on the sides, a former evenings hobby business started in 1998 doing G60 overhauls and engine building, run by mate ‘Robert and ‘Marco, hence the name.”

Draw up a wish-list tick-box spec of a Mk1 Golf track car, and you’ll find all or most of what you’re looking for already in the Dub Details side panel: A throttle-bodied 16-valve, six-speed dog ‘box, tubular wishbones, spherical joints everywhere, two-to-three-way dampers and a multi-point weld-in climbing frame.

“This car is everything a normally aspirated shouty Mk1 Golf track car should be”

With a current 252 horsepower, 8500 max rpm, 16-valve 9A 2.1-litre motor running plus-60mm per side track and a set of Group 2 – aka ‘Berg arches’ – to cover the wheels, this car is now over 2000 laps at the ‘Ring in its current form, and another 1000 before the 2007 rebuild. Marco reflects “I stopped counting.” Translating to over 40,000 miles (62,500 kms), that’s hardly surprising. Stop the freakin’ bus!

So, 252bhp and 280 NM of torque – 206 lb ft – out of an aspirated 16-valve on a budget this side of a 25,000 Euro, Lehmann Motoren-Technik factory Golf or Ibiza crate motor is some achievement, as anyone who tunes these motors knows. Part of that is due to the extra capacity from a diesel 95.5 mm crank – who says big cranks don’t rev? – and an 83.5 mm bore which combine to give an extra five percent capacity. Breathing through larger valves also helps, as does the dry sump external oil pump system to eliminate losses from oil sloshing around the crank, plus a special coating on the cylinder bores to reduce friction and give free horsepower, as Marco explains: “the low friction brings more torque. 252 bhp is not the max. I can go higher to 265/270 but then my torque goes down and at the Nürburgring I want to have maximum torque, so that is why I only drive 252 horsepower!” Clever, and not surprising. When I asked Audi Head of Engine Development Ulrich Baretsky how they got over 300 bhp out of this 16-valve engine used in the ‘90s A4 Super Touring cars, his first and only answer was “friction”.

The rest appears outwardly fairly conventional with high compression pistons, Cat Cams with solid lifters plus lash caps and vernier adjustable pulleys on both ends. Considering Marco builds this himself, the results are mighty impressive. “Now every two years I change the crank and conrod bearings. Every four years I take the motor out of the car and change nearly everything.” He clearly knows his stuff: “On Facebook ‘Marco’s Motorsport’ there’s a couple of engines that I built. It’s a bit of fun for me.” Marco uses Dutch legend Jeroen Dik: “At the start of my journey I visited many mappers. For nearly 20 years I now go to JD Engineering.”

Power is transmitted through the familiar 02A cable-change ‘box converted to fore-aft sequential style shifting via an SQS lever. “The 6-speed gear kit is from Quaife. I’ve driven it since April 2007, I know my Quaife and I know what the problems are with it and it is fine for me. It’s a change box with a Drenth plate LSD.”

This is now, but back in 2007, running an earlier-spec 231 bhp 1.9 litre wet-sumped 16-valve engine, a story of shenanigans with the ‘Ring marshals started. Those familiar will be aware of the annual rumours of track rule reinforcements, likely to affect the legions of thinly-veiled road-legal race cars, all enjoying the best tarmac – and concrete – in the world. “On the first day we drove, the Friday before Easter in 2007, we were sent away because of my plastic windscreen. The next day, the Saturday, we came back again and got the track guys of the Nürburgring across to the parking lot and I showed him my front window because I didn’t want to be sent away again.”

Ultimately the Golf was still too often the attention of the marshals. “At the end of 2007 I was banned from the ‘Ring because my car did not conform to the German rules.” The only solution? “Rebuild it and run with German licence plates.” Re-registering it in Germany at Marco’s girlfriend’s for a year was the way forward, and he went through the car with a fine toothcomb to re-spec it and get it TUV inspected. All sounding a bit serious? Well aside from catching up with Marco in Worthersee, during the last 13 years, Marco has driven two other tracks: Zandvoort and Spa, but the ‘Ring does it for him: “Every other circuit compared to the ‘Ring? You can’t. The ‘Ring is it!!!”

Getting the car TUV approved was some challenge. “I changed a lot of things so I could drive within the German law. If you don’t have it on paper, it’s not allowed.” Throwing in a first aid kit was the easy bit. Its German logbook lists endless modifications from the Proflex dampers, to the Sparco seats, to the Fifft white tint rear lights. The driver’s Sparco bucket seat had to be put on an adjustable rail, and the 55mm rear stub axle spacers had to be re-made from steel not aluminium! The rear spoiler blades had to be re-worked in glass fibre, and the one off extended steering column replaced with one with a more safety-conscious production version from a Mitsubishi Colt along with column stalks. The hydraulic handbrake had to be supplemented with a cable actuated one, which uses a fourth pedal in the driver’s footwell! Even grip tape had to be put on the Tilton bias pedal box pedals. More obscurely the vent from the under-bonnet dry sump tank had to go to a catch tank with a filter. “After this period the ‘Ring marshals know me and my car. I have no problems anymore. Since late 2008 the car has been back on a Holland version of the TUV, an ‘APK’. ”

So against the odds Marco’s done what only the minority do: stuck with the same car for a long time and the whole journey has long gone past being just track days. “For me when I go to Breidscheid, at the half-way entrance, it’s all like a family. We have all respect because we are all there for one thing: that is having fun on the ‘Ring. Nothing more, nothing less. You can’t win anything.

So, how quick is this Golf, roughly? “Laptimes is really not important for me, fun to drive is important. Let’s say it does under eight minute laps.” Eat your heart out, Jeremy Clarkson! Marco cautions though: “You see a lot of guys buying one or two laps and in those two laps they have to drive like Formula 1 stars. No. For us it is about having fun. Having fun is 100%, and driving is 50% and a chat with the guys and driving with along with the other guys is also 50%.”

So it seems Marco’s got a hang of the engineering as well as the talent bit too. Special moments? “It is very difficult to mention a few favourite laps. I have a friend there who drives a Mk2 Golf 1.8 turbo. We have the same speed so when we do a lap it is tough driving! Normally I have to drive in front so he can chase me. Always lovely laps. There are not that many because he is only there for five times a year.”

“There is another one encounter to mention. There is the guy whose driven the BMW M5 ‘Ring Taxi for the past few years and when I see the car, I go after it. Sometimes he is waiting for me! I am always thinking to myself: ‘what is he telling his passengers?!!’ ‘Oh yeah, there’s the blue Mk1 that is coming so let’s wait and let’s drive together ??’ It’s fun and also a respect thing. The ‘Ring Taxi was the car to beat with my Mk1 and I did it many times.”

In those years of pounding the Green Hell tarmac, Marco’s had a couple of scrapes: “In October 2014 I lost my left front wheel and crashed at 140 km/h into the barrier.” The joint between the hub and wishbone broke, resulting in the left hand side of the car getting severely damaged as well as the front corner. Marco reflects: “The roll cage did its job.” – and likely saved the car. “Then in July 2016 I lost my left back wheel. No big damage” – a rear stub axle sheared, which is on YouTube.

Years of track bashing, but like any true race car that ever earned its spurs, this Mk1 has pedigree and provenance not just because it of its track time, not just because it fast, or because its humbled all manner of other cars, but because it’s also had its calamities and yet bounced back better than ever.

So why does Marco still drive a Mk1? “I love it, you don’t see a lot of Mk1s, and many people like it. When you look at the ‘Ring nowadays, it is all turbo engines. There are also a lot of GT3 Porsches, BMW E36s, E46s and E92s but there are not many forty-year old cars driving on the track. Sure it’s very tiring to drive with only manual steering – after the jump the car is very unstable – but driving it fast makes a lot of fun for me and for the visitors. They know the car, they know it’s fast and when they see the blue Golf, they indicate to the right!”

And here’s the clincher: “I have many people who say ‘I was a passenger in a BMW M5 or in other big cars, you know, Ferrari or Porsches or something like that, but when I ride with you, it’s working, it’s hot, it’s noisy, it goes through your bones’. When you are in a GT3, it’s going fast, very fast, but emotionally it’s not the same as driving a noisy Mk1.” So there you have the survey from a panel of random ‘Ring passenger hailers.

Maybe it’s just me but I never tire of watching the original Mk1 Golf GTI shape, wide arches or not, punching above its weight, showing the rest how it’s done. And Marco’s Mk1 embodies everything about that. Taking one of the oldest cars and putting on the line for all to see. A mix of engineering, skill, sticking with it, reaping all the benefits of continued development and gaining respect for putting it out there and showing what can be achieved. In the end, it’s not how much money you spent, or what spec you ordered. It’s how much of a scene you create, how much ingenuity you came up with, how much fun you had and how much you inspired others. And when you start out as an underdog only to deliver in spades, prestige goes out the window, speed and skill takes centre stage. The true speed and visceral test is utterly class-less.

So if ever you’re at the ‘Ring car park on a Touristenfahrten day, you know what to do: ask nicely, buckle up and enjoy the ride. I’ve booked my spot.

Tech Spec: Mk1 Golf track car

Engine:

All-steel, dry-sumped, 9A-code Golf 2.1-litre 16v, mapped by JD Engineering. ABF 373’D’ head, 95.5mm 1Z diesel crank, 83.5mm Wossner high-compression forged pistons, giving 2092cc. Low friction engine bore cylinder coating, 144mm Carillo rods, Cat Cams, solid tappets, external and inter-cam adjustable vernier pulleys, oversized Honda valves, uprated valve springs, Lumenition 45mm ITBs, Sorg Motorsport inlet manifold, Jenvey fuel rail, Bosch Audi S3 injectors, Pipercross air filter, MBE 992 ECU, distributor blanked, wasted spark coil pack, external crank sensor-triggered spark timing, Mk1 Golf K-Jet fuel pump, Pace 10 litre engine-bay-mounted oil tank, Pace external oil pump (no oil cooler), Marco’s Motorsport self-built 4-2-1 exhaust manifold, with flexible spring fittings at the head, Marco’s Motorsport 2.5-inch/63mm stainless steel exhaust system with upswept tail pipe. Sachs RCS200 200mm basket clutch with a locally made single sintered disc (non-paddle) and home-made lightened flywheel. Quaife QKE2V close-ratio semi-helical-tooth 6-speed 02A dog ‘box, Drenth plate limited slip differential, spherical-jointed shifter tower linkage. Bespoke lengthened chrome moly driveshafts with BMW inner and Audi outer joints. Performance: 252bhp and 280 NM torque. Max revs 8500 rpm

Chassis:

7×15” CMS wheels with Dunlop Direzza 205/50 03G tyres, recently upgraded to 7×17” wheels with Kumho Ecsta V70a tyres. Stud and nut conversion, Brembo Seat Ibiza 4-pot front callipers, 280mm diameter front discs now upgraded to 323mm, mounted to roll-centre optimised modified Golf Mk2 hubs, Carbon Lorraine RC8 sintered brake pads, 6N Polo/Ibiza rear stub axles and discs (upgraded post-wheel off incident). 72-position 3-way front and 48 position 2-way rear external canister adjustable Proflex shocks complete with home-made front spherical eccentric suspension top mounts, Eibach anti roll bars, home-made +60mm wide-track tubular wishbones, widened rear axle via 55mm steel stub axle spacers, all bushes replaced with spherical bearings, braided brake hoses, manual steering rack with lengthened outer joint for wider track

Exterior:

Germany-sourced 1979 Mk1 Golf Series 1 shell painted in RAL5009 blue. Simon Gras / quattratuning.nl wide arch Group 2 aka ‘Berg Cup’ arches, tubbed inner rear arches, polycarbonate side and rear windows complete with door sliders and without OE rubbers, relocated flag mirrors, eyebrow spoiler, JOM cross-hair smoked headlamps, clear front indicators, single front wiper, Fifft rear lights, deleted rear wiper, home-made twin-plane adjustable-rake rear spoiler

Interior:

Sparco Corsa bucket seats, Sabelt 3-point 3 inch harnesses, carbon dash inlay panel with minimalist clocks, Autometer rev counter, OMP steering wheel, 1990 Mitsubishi Colt longer steering column, indicator and windscreen wiper levers, gear indicator on ignition cowling, shift light, large oil pressure light, raised SQS non-flatshift sequential gear shifter, Tilton three-cylinder bias brake pedal box, between-seats bias adjuster, hydraulic handbrake, extra fourth pedal for mechanical handbrake for TUV rules, grip tape covered pedals and floor plates, battery box in boot, plus the all-important yellow flag for marshalling ‘Ring track incidents. Seam welded with all underseal removed, multi-point weld-in CDS 2.5mm-wall roll cage to front turrets, with extra sill tubes + lower bulkhead protection, harness bars and chassis bracing triangulation in lower rear.

Contact:

‘Marco Veldhuis’, ‘Marcos Motorsport’, ‘widebodyallstars’. Instagram: ‘fliegende_hollanderr’

Source

June 1, 2021