386 HP Volkswagen GTI From Wimmer

'The torque steer must be horrendous.' That was my first thought when I saw the headline about German tuning firm Wimmer and their fully kitted VW GTI that cranks out an astonishing 386 horsepower. The next thing I noticed was that they did this with a four door GTI ... Wimmer is my kind of twisted folk.

Another thing I noticed was for a German tuner, the outside is relatively sedate. No silly wings or wide-body kits or that sort of boy-racer stuff. Wimmer did add a set of 20-inch Antares wheels from Motec, and they dropped the ride height with a set of height-adjustable coilovers, but other than a few minor graphics, that's pretty much it.

They put all the money under the hood, which is how I would prefer it anyway. Normally, Volkswagens GTI comes with a 2.0-liter TFSI mill under the bonnet that puts out a fairly respectable 211-hp. That's probably a lot of fun in a car that size. And with that four door and hatchback, practical too.

But the fine inmates, er, folks at Wimmer thought that wasn't enough, so they squeezed even more out of the little four banger. The boys (I'm assuming there are no girls involved with this) from Solingen, Germany are able to get 386 hp and 336 ft-lb of torque out of the little plant.

How? Wimmer beefed up the turbo (which the inexplicably refer to as "an optimized turbo loader" in their presser) added a new manifold, a new sports CAT converter, adapted the intake system, modified fuel pump, had a go at the injection valves, worked over the piston rods and intercooler and added a high grade steel sports exhaust system.

There's more, they also did their own proprietary engine electronics and modified the TSI-unit, and installed a sports clutch that guarantees better power transmission and very high driving stability. Bottom line: A max velocity of 267 km/h or 166 mph and no word on torque steer.

Oh, and I also loved this line from their press release: "Nevertheless, strict appropriateness for daily use is also programmed by Wimmer RS." They are just ADORABLE, aren't they?

Source: AutoBlog