There are certain regions around the world where the Volkswagen Golf is one of the most popular vehicles on the roads. If you happen to visit Eastern Europe, you’ll probably be surprised by how many Golf there are in the traffic, including older Mk1, Mk2, and Mk3 generations. This isn’t really surprising given the simplicity and reliability of those Golfs, though. In other regions, some people tune those cars to more than 500 horsepower (368 kilowatts).
You’ve probably seen a heavily modified Golf Mk2 before but this is perhaps the most engineered one out there. There’s much more to it than the turbocharged engine under the hood as this vehicle has undergone a lengthy process of fine-tuning the chassis, steering, and brakes, in addition to the engine. In fact, it has taken more than 18 years for the owner to reach its current state. And this is surely not its final form.
Gallery: VW Golf Mk2 in Assetto Corsa
Sure, the exterior doesn’t really look that spectacular. To a certain extent, it is like most other street hot hatches with spoilers, diffusers, and larger air openings. However, every single component serves an aerodynamic function making the car very stable at high speeds. So stable that it can go flat out around the Nurburgring and feel almost like an actual race car. The video at the top of this page shows the light blue Golf lapping the famous track – and it’s a pretty scary and impressive sight at the same time.
Not everyone can afford to spend a good portion of their life in tuning a hot hatch. For those who don’t have the time and resources to do it, we are happy to report that you can actually drive this particular car in Assetto Corsa. There’s a very detailed and realistic model (see the gallery above) of this car available for downloads featuring an Audi S1 sound as the next best thing to the actual engine sound. The best part is that it is constantly being updated and modified to reflect the improvements of its real-life counterpart.
