Golf

Make
Volkswagen
Segment
Hatchback

It's hard to find a gearhead who doesn't love to talk about those factory-tuned Volkswagen Golfs without making them sound like cute ferocious animals. After all, the Golf R is the most powerful stock Golf of the bunch (unless we're talking about the rare and limited 350 horsepower Golf GTI TCR) and even that comes with less than 300 ponies. It may work wonders within the hot hatch segment, but anyone with an acquired taste for horsepower may be left wanting more.

To encourage a bit of imagination among that crowd, this owner of an Mk2 Golf tinkered a bit with the engine and like Victor Frankenstein, created a complete monster. More impressive is that no lightning bolts or dead bodies were needed, just a reworked 2.0-liter engine, E85 fuel, and a turbocharger from Extreme Tuners.

Throw that in the cauldron and set the boost to 64 psi and the result is 1233 horsepower, all of which is sent to the four tires. Not so cute anymore is it? We'd wager any contenders who put up pink slips wouldn't think so either because this machine can make the quarter mile stampede in only 8.67 seconds at a bewildering 175 mph. Better still is that not much outside of the drivetrain has been modified, with the original body remaining intact. Aside from the slicks, this may be one of the most inconspicuous sleeper cars out there.