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TUNED AUDI A1 TDI: BLACK GOLD

The oil-burning variants of the Audi A1 may not be everyone’s first choice for a project – but as Sean Davies’ tuned Audi A1 TDi daily-driven show car ably demonstrates, it’s a strong base for a gold-standard build…

Feature taken from Performance Audi. Words Dan Bevis Photos Lukasz Markowski

The time-freeze is a classic cinematic device. Remember the scene in The Matrix where Morpheus is introducing Neo to the central concept of the Matrix code? He gets distracted by the woman in the red dress, then Morpheus freezes the scene? Iconic stuff. Film nerds can trace this behaviour back to the French silent movie Paris Qui Dort of 1924 – or, of course, there’s the Adam Sandler movie Click. Although it’s probably best to pretend that last one never happened. The point is that, thanks to this cinematic and televisual trope, we have an ingrained sense that when something significant happens, our brains should be able to stop time entirely for a moment in order to allow us to process what we’re seeing.

This low-down A1 is the sort of car that lets your complex thought processes achieve this. It’s no ordinary mixture of steel, glass and plastics, but something otherworldly, surreal, outstanding. Sure, you’ve seen Audi A1s before, they’re parked up on every residential street throughout the land – but have you ever seen one where all of the stylistic elements coalesce as artfully as they do here? The familiar and ubiquitous form has been reimagined into something suddenly unfamiliar. You’ll be needing a moment or two to gather your thoughts, we imagine. Step outside of reality and take a deep breath, and let’s regroup down at the next paragraph.

Better? OK, so we should take a look at the story behind this impressive little supermini. Brainchild of serial modder Sean Davies, it fuses a number of key elements – show-winning finish, performance tuning, daily-driven credentials – to create an admirable all-rounder. And it’s basically all his grandad’s fault.

“I’ve always been into my cars, from being around my grandad who was a mechanic, so I was always messing about with cars since I was young,” he explains. “I started modifying when I owned a Renault Clio, but quickly changed direction and wanted to build something to get into shows. Before this Audi I owned a SEAT Ibiza – that was static, and I thought air-ride would be better this time around as I drive the car daily as well as showing it.”

You can’t argue with the logic of that, and the primary focus from the off was to create something that looked great. Having been pretty happy with the old Ibiza, Sean was keen to continue operating within the Ibiza-A1-Polo-Fabia sphere of the little VAGs, and the A1 represented an opportunity to level-up into something more premium and elegant. Great looks from the outside, and a really nice place to be inside. So the decision was made.

This particular A1 caused a Hollywood-esque freeze-frame to occur for Sean as he was driving along one day and spotted it for sale on the side of the road. It wasn’t perfect, but what he was really seeing was potential; two days later he had the keys in his hand and his name on the dotted line.

“I wouldn’t say it was in bad condition,” he recalls. “However, quite a lot of the car did need repainting, and it also needed all the paint correcting for it to really be up to show standard. The spec was good though – it came fully-loaded from Audi other than the panoramic roof, so it’s pleasant to be inside as well as looking good.”

As bought, the car was all factory-stock aside from a front honeycomb grille, although Sean was quick to replace this with a better item as it had cracked. Things then moved on apace as the whole front end was repainted to freshen it up, the plastics gloss black and the Audi rings finished in body-colour white. The first truly seismic change was to fit that air-ride system he’d been talking about, which was carried out at home with the help of a friend, Ben; Sean had never tackled such a thing before but he figured it was better to roll up his sleeves and have a go himself rather than shelling out thousands for someone to do for him. Barring a couple of issues with air-lines which he’s had to rectify, he’s largely been proved right – the home-installed setup is the perfect accompaniment to daily driving. The A1’s running Air Lift front struts and rear bags with V3 management, along with a bit of chassis notching to help it properly kiss the tarmac when it airs out, and the effect is truly impressive.

“The air-ride went on in 2018, along with a set of Ispiri wheels, and I pretty much kept it like that with a stock interior for a while,” says Sean. “But by the time the winter came, I’d started to get a few other bits of the car repainted, before having all of the paint corrected and ceramic-coated. Then I really wanted to get the interior up to the same level as the exterior, to turn the car into more of a complete build.”

With this in mind, the front seats were ousted in favour of a pair of Corbeau RRS Clubsports, while the rears were junked altogether. In the back you’ll now find a custom boot build with a raised air tank, featured air lines and subwoofer; there’s all sorts of carbon-effect work going on with the interior trim, and the most arresting feature is the steering wheel, which has been cleverly reshaped before being re-covered in carbon fibre and leather with custom stitching.

Now, you’ll probably have noticed that we haven’t mentioned power by this point. This is Performance Audi after all, performance is baked right into the title. And since this car’s rocking the 1.6-litre TDI lump, you’d be forgiven for not being particularly excited. All show and no go? Ah, don’t be too quick to judge… you see, Sean’s already increased that stock 105bhp output by over 50%, with plans for plenty more. It’s the classic formula of mighty oaks and little acorns. A Stage 1 remap was the starting point, followed by deleting the DPF and EGR, and the restrictive exhaust system has been totally reworked; it now boasts a 3” downpipe, flowing into a straight-through 2.5” stainless system, which helps the derv to find a voice. All of this furnishes Sean’s right foot with a handy 160bhp – and again, he’s far from done with it. Wait till he bolts a bigger turbo in there…

“Yes, the turbo’s definitely on the list,” he assures us. “There’ll be a dual-exit exhaust with a fresh diffuser too, I’m planning it all out. As much as possible, I do all of the work on the car myself, and this winter I’ll be looking to respray the car and smooth the engine bay – I have a couple of colours in mind! I love the wheel choice at the moment – they’re staggered Mille Miglia 3000 3-piece splits, and I can only find one other set in the world – but I’ll be swapping something new on next year to freshen it up. It’s still very much my daily driver though, I do between 1,000-2,000 miles a month in it, and it does turn a lot of heads wherever it goes…” And that, of course, is the fun of daily-driving a show-stopper. Whereas some garage queens only get to enjoy the comedy double-takes of the cinematic time-freeze a few times a year, this A1 is able to shock and inspire awe on a daily basis. Take a look, rub your eyes, then look again. It’s the familiar A1 shape, but at the same time it really is something else.

TECH SPEC AUDI A1 TDI

Engine & transmission:
1.6-litre TDI (105), Stage 1 remap, DPF & EGR delete, 3” downpipe, Narco Tuning 2.5” stainless straight-through exhaust system, stock manual trans.

Chassis:
8.5×17” (front) and 9.5×17” (rear) Mille Miglia 3000 3-piece split-rims, 195/40 tyres, Air Lift Performance front struts, Air Lift rear bags, 3P management, chassis notch, S1 front calipers, Tarox Sport Japan 312mm front discs and Tarox Corsa pads, Tarox Sport Japan rear discs and Corsa pads.

Exterior:
Xenonz UK honeycomb grille with Audi badge painted to match body, front end resprayed with all plastics painted gloss black, rear bumper repainted and boot wrapped in satin black, Maxton Design splitter, TRC sideskirt extensions, TRC rear bumper spats, gloss black diffuser to match exhaust tip, fully paint corrected and ceramic coated, boot debadged.

Interior:
Corbeau RRS Clubsport seats, rear seat delete, custom boot build with raised air tank, LEDs, subwoofer and air lines, steering wheel reshaped and retrimmed – half-carbon fibre, half-perforated leather with red stitching, carbon skinned interior trim, ambient lighting.

POWER: 160bhp
TORQUE: 262lb ft

Source

November 17, 2020
REVO TUNED VW MK7 GOLF R: VIENNESE WHIRL – FC THROWBACK

Welcome to this week’s FC Throwback, where we take a look back at some of our favourite previous feature cars. This week its REVO’s 500bhp Golf R demo car from 2019, which at the time was hot off its pilgrimage to Wörthersee…

Feature taken from Fast Car. Words Emma Woodcock Photos Daniel Edwards

Soul isn’t stored in the spec list. It’s the driving, the events, the people and the experiences along the way. That’s why – despite the hunkered stance, upscale electronics and 503bhp that define the REVO VW Golf R demo car – this story starts with a thousand miles of open road. “A lot of people might have preferred to be in our support van,” laughs Dan Edwards, the company’s marketing manager, “given that most builds with this kind of power aren’t designed to drive that far. But it was really cool for me to be able to experience it, to further testify what this Volkswagen can do.”

The destination was every bit as exciting as the journey: Wörthersee Treffen, the largest VW festival in the world. REVO had visited before – flying over to meet and greet with clients – but the 2019 roadtrip was the start of something much bigger. “We turned up,” laughs Dan, “and we took over! It’s incredible to meet our German and Austrian customers and hear how much the love our brand, and the show itself is so much fun. I’d never been before but it’s always been on my list.”

Dan’s international interactions didn’t stop at the EU borders. In an antipodean twist, the REVO team also found themselves chatting with Marty and Moog from Mighty Car Mods. “They had a Mark 4 Golf GTi with them which really should have been in a scrapyard, so we ECU flashed that,” he explains, “but – back in Australia – they’ve got a Golf 7 R with exactly the same packs as our demo.” That’s what happens when tuning goes global.

Dig into the engine bay and the worldwide appeal isn’t hard to parse. REVO has created this Golf by combining two distinct parts collections – the Performance Pack and the Power Pack – to throw down 503bhp and 405lb-ft of torque. “We’re moving away from the Stage 1, 2 and 3 concept,” Dan clarifies, “and these packages take the guesswork out of tuning. They’re items you can add together and know the car will run like it should.” Those peak power figures are dyno-proven, by the way, and are achieved with entirely standard engine internals.

The Performance Pack comes first and focuses on getting air through the engine with maximum efficiency. Hardware changes start with a three part, carbon fibre air intake system, using a finned air scoop and computer-designed airbox lid to get intake air flowing more quickly and more smoothly than standard. On the other side of the turbocharger, incoming oxygen then meets a REVO intercooler. A bar and plate design that’s equipped with an upsized core, redesigned end tanks and silicone hoses, it keeps air cool so that performance won’t drop off in even the hardest use. A larger diameter, stainless steel downpipe – designed with help from experts Scorpion Exhausts – completes this stage of the physical transformation. Stir in revised software and 394bhp.

It’s a great intermediate package but the team wasn’t going to stop there. “We know the MQB platform inside and out,” says Dan, “we’ve become experts in it and it’s really robust.” To prove its point, REVO has fitted the Golf with an IS38ETR turbocharger for even more go. Retaining the original Volkswagen housing, albeit in reworked form, the uprated turbo boasts a billet compressor wheel, larger turbine shaft and a strong thrust bearing to ensure it can withstand very high power outputs. Improved high and low pressure fuel pumps, a 76mm Milltek stainless steel exhaust system and firmed up REVO engine mounts appear in support.

A Stage 3 engine control unit reflash unlocks the Golf’s ultimate potential. Uploaded via the OBD port, the pre-built tune pushes the car past 500bhp, increase the rev limit and unlocks left-foot braking. A similarly extreme Stage 3 DSG transmission map also features. That means a raised rev limit, the removal of automatic kickdown and variable launch control that lets the Golf R rip at anything up to 4500rpm.

Running gear changes are just as radical. The original springs are gone, replaced with Bilstein height-adjustable suspension, while the stock tyres have been replaced by a set of Nankang AS-2+ performance tyres. The go-fast rubber is mounted on a set of RVO19 19 inch cast alloys. An uncluttered, ten spoke design, these rims are an in-house design that weigh just ten kilos per corner. That’s just for road use. On track, where every second really counts, the Golf runs with a similar set of 18-inchers and AR-1 rubber, a Nankang design which is used in a range of circuit racing championships.

“I really do rate those tyres,” says Alex Bones, a Time Attack hotshoe and the man most often asked to take the REVO Golf on track, “they’re basically semi-slicks and very predictable.” It’s not the only thing he likes about the Volkswagen. “Passengers are often quite shocked! A wolf in sheep’s clothing is the best way to describe it and people don’t expect that level of performance from what is essentially a family-look car!”

Scorching hot laps are only possible thanks to Alex’s faith in the braking system. The discs and calipers are still standard at the rear but up front, where the action really goes down, every component has been touched by REVO and stopping specialists Alcon components. Where once 340mm rotors stood, the red Golf now boasts two-piece, fully floating, C hook discs which measure a full 380mm. The calipers have seen improvement too, moving from stock items to REVO by Alcon six-pot, all-aluminium pieces. Ferodo Racing pads and braided brake lines complete the transformation.

Whether it’s Wörthersee or Aussie YouTubers, the REVO development programme doesn’t end at the firm’s Daventry headquarters. Thanks to a global selection of dealers and distributors, the modification package has landed on Golfs everywhere from the Midlands to Malaysia. It’s a key strategy that ensures the Performance and Power Packs will hold up anywhere in the world. “We don’t want software that just works in Britain, on British fuel, in the British climate,” Dan explains. “In Russia it’s really cold and they’ve got poor quality fuel, while in South Africa the petrol is okay but it’s hot, it’s humid and Johannesburg customers are living at altitude. We have to take these factors into consideration.”

The community approach is reinforced by the matte wrap, REVO and its subsidiaries all using the same look on their demonstration machines. “We designed it in house,” says Dan, “the Golf used to be matte black and it was mean but so subtle that people used to walk past it. Now it looks as fast as it is and gets noticed!” Up on the roof, the pair of large numbers are to signal each machine’s nationality and place in the REVO community. Germany has 03; Russia has 02; South Africa has 01. And Daventry? A double zero for patient zero.

Five years after the build began, the Golf is still dropping jaws at every opportunity. “It’s crazy behind the wheel,” Dan smiles, “but it all depends on how you drive it. Rolling around sensibly, you could put your mum in the car and she wouldn’t notice the difference over something standard… but plant your foot and it opens up a whole new world. It keeps pulling; it’s an insane package.” With few mechanical opportunities left to explore, REVO are considering a Clubsport transformation with bucket seats, harnesses and a half rollcage but the Golf’s future is all about the driving. After all, no car sets the heart racing when it’s standing still.

TECH SPEC: VW GOLF R

STYLING
REVO custom full car matte wrap in red and black with double zero roof decal, black VW roundels, front numberplate delete, Mission Wörthersee rear window decal.

TUNING
VW Golf R 2.0 TSI EA888 turbocharged inline-four with REVO Carbon Series air intake system, uprated high and low pressure fuel pumps, REVO IS38ETR uprated turbocharger, REVO turbo muffler delete, REVO bar and plate intercooler with REVO silicone pipes, REVO downpipe with sports catalytic converter, Milltek 76mm stainless steel cat back exhaust.

CHASSIS
19-inch REVO RVO 19-inch alloys with Nankang AS-2+ tyres (road), 18-inch REVO RVO 18-inch alloys with Nankang AR-1 semi-slick tyres (track), REVO by Alcon 380mm C hook front brake discs with REVO by Alcon six-pot front calipers, Bilstein B16 height adjustable suspension, REVO MQB chassis and engine mounts.

INTERIOR
VW Golf R interior with Alpine 9-inch touch screen central display.

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November 12, 2020
NISSAN RE-LEAF: ASSAULT AND BATTERY

When the apocalypse comes and we’re all scrabbling about through the scorched remains of the Earth, what do you reckon the kingpin survivors will be driving over the skeletons of the fallen? Land Rover Defenders, Toyota Hiluxes, rugged stuff like that? Nah, they’ll be in electric Japanese hatchbacks.

At least, that’s what Nissan would have us believe. Take a look at this completely excellent creation, the Re-Leaf. As a concept to demonstrate the potential of electric vehicles in disaster recovery.

The engineers have jacked up the suspension by 70mm, fitted a sump guard, widened the track, and bolted on strong motorsport wheels with knobbly tyres under some slick wider arches.

Rescue equipment includes stuff like a 100-watt LED floodlight, an electric jackhammer, a pressure ventilation fan and an intensive-care medical ventilator, and it’s also got a 32in TV in the boot. Let’s just hope there’s still somewhere to charge it after the bomb drops.

Words Dan Bevis

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November 11, 2020