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Posts Tagged “

R32

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tuners

Abt Sportsline Tunes VW R32, Hits 370 HP Note

The German tuners of Abt Sportsline have had their way with the VW Golf R32 taking the well-known and already sporty hot hatch down the road of higher horsepower. Although you'd never expect it with such few changes Abt's made to the exterior shell. Although Abt gives their R32 a new side skirt, blackened chrome dual pipes and of course, 19-inch wheels and Abt decals, very little else signals the changes Abt's got going on under that blue bonnet.

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8:18 AM on Thu Mar 27 2008
By Ray Wert
1,748 views, 23 comments

Latest by vr6john: @ruggels: You may have misunderstood me...GTIs and R32s should only be manual and 2 door IMO... I haven't completely warmed to the MKVs body style just yet...I roll with a MKIV VR6...although sometimes I secretly I wish it was a MKIII I more »

pick a skyline, any skyline

Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: Which Nissan Skyline?

As car legends go, few have had their flames as passionately fanned as the Nissan Skyline. Despite extensive research proving only seven Americans have seen one on the street, and four have actually driven the mythical machine, it's astounding how often its tale is told. We're reminded of a particular Jonathan Gold restaurant review, in which he tells of intercepting scratchy CB conversations between truckers about a taqueria hidden somewhere in East Los Angeles. It's allegedly home to the world's most perfect torta. Gold never reveals if he found the mythic Mexican sandwich, or if the restaurant is anything more than a Hoffa-like figment of Teamster lore. And I'm glad. The reality could never hold up. That, in a nutshell, sums up my feelings vis-a-vis Nissan's decision to bring its Skyline replacement to America. The get here already upcoming GT-R may whip a Porsche Turbo's ass around the 'Ring, but in time, we'll learn its flaws. Luckily, previous-generation Skylines remain automotive apocrypha to us Yanks, forever shrouded in imagination and painful thumb blisters. And now dear Jalops, you get to vote one into the Fantasy Garage. More »

Feature

12:00 PM on Tue Jul 10 2007
By Jonny Lieberman
11,045 views, 89 comments

Latest by velocecrat: @ Shapeshifter: Have you ever felt compelled to curse an R32's portly mass as the brake fluid boils after only six laps? I have. More gadgets = more weight. The Skylines I've encountered have been one-lap wonders: mediocrity sets in more »

question of the day

Do We Want the New Scirocco?

Look, we hate to ever agree with a car dealer about anything, but... we've driven the new Volkswagen GTI. Although we would have liked more power and a rear-wheel drive bias in the GTI, the R32, set to drop this August, will take care of our dual needs quite nicely. The ice cream sandwich's chance in hell of coming to America R36 would fill 'em in even more, um, nicely. Which forces us to admit that VW dealers might have a point. Seriously, the GTI and the Scirocco share the same Golf Rabbit platform and peppy 2.0-liter turbo engine. The only difference between the two is the body and the ride height. I mean, do we really want this thing? And if we do, why? More »

11:30 AM on Thu May 3 2007
By Jonny Lieberman
1,477 views, 41 comments

Latest by my favorite car is a motorcycle: VW: build the red photoshopped Autobild concept vehicle with RWD, and you won't have to worry about cannibalizing GTI sales. www.jalopnik.com/cars/news/autobild-rocks-the-scirocco-photos-139260.php more »

news: industry news

VW to Recall 790,000 Cars. Oof.

The Car Company of the People will be sending out recall notices in April to 790,000 American purchasers of their product. The reason? A brake-light switch that may either leave the lights on or never illuminate them in the first place upon depression of the wide pedal. Affected? Glad you asked. Follow along and see if you won the lottery: 1999-2005 Golf and GTI; 1999-2005 Jettas and '02-05 Jetta wagons on the Mark IV platform; 1998-2007 New Beetles and '03-07 New Beetle convertibles, plus the '04 R32. Dang ol' dang, that sure is a mess o' switches. – Davey G. Johnson More »

6:15 PM on Mon Feb 26 2007
By Davey G. Johnson
1,744 views, 12 comments

Latest by my favorite car is a motorcycle: @The Comedian: Comedian is right. Brazilian and Mexican VWs seem to have more than their fair share of electrical gremlins. Get a VW built in Wolfsburg or Brussels if you can. more »

news

Chicago Auto Show: US-Bound Volkswagen R32

Volkswagen execs say the 2004 Golf-based R32s are still so highly in demand that they've retained 85% of their resale value (seriously, check the eBay). And now, the company's shown off its long-awaited successor — right, the R32. Considering the updated model's been fitted for the VW/Audi DSG automanual, we're putting the epitome of hot hatches atop our must-drive list for 2007. And to those who were closed out of the previous model by low supply, prospective buyers can (soon) register as prospects on VW's R32 microsite on www.vw.com The first 832 people who place a deposit with an authorized Volkswagen dealer, the company says, will be eligible to secure one of the first R32 vehicles to be delivered in August 2007. Hurry! – Mike Spinelli More »

Feature

4:11 PM on Wed Feb 7 2007
By Mike Spinelli
2,427 views, 12 comments

Latest by my favorite car is a motorcycle: Here's what my local VW dealer had to say about the 2008 R32: 1) they just got word about the R32 the same time as the official press release. They know nothing more than what was posted online. 2) Price is more »

news

Thunder Bunny! Volkswagen May Build SEMA Concept

Those Volkswagen tuners at the SEMA show may hearken a plan to launch an auto das ist pimpen in the US, according to Automotive News. The trade daily reports VW's Thunder Bunny concept it showed at SEMA (pictured) could see daylight eventually. The company is also looking toward increasing the availability of accessories through VW dealers, though won't go overboard with upgrades that aren't functional, or are too "bombastic," according to one VW manager (guess the rumored Siegfried & Roy Edition Passat is out). V-dub is also planning to gauge interest in the 'Bunny — which was designed at VW's Santa Monica studio and sports a Neuspeed-tuned, 225-hp, 2.5-liter turbocharged engine, Brembo brakes, Bilstein coil-over shocks, a short-throw shift kit and 19" wheels — before greenlighting the project. We'd rather see V-dub build the RGTI concept it showed at SEMA, though with a new R32 (or R36) on the way, that preference may be moot. [Gallery] – Mike Spinelli More »

1:53 PM on Mon Nov 6 2006
By Mike Spinelli
2,312 views, 7 comments

Latest by my favorite car is a motorcycle: The R-GTI would be nice, but it's fwd only. Fun as hell, but not a true performance ride. Besides, what is the point in staid, buttoned-down VW trying to carve out a niche in the tuner crowd??? Those kids more »

news

Yes!: Volkswagen Rabbit R32 Coming to the US

Forget all you've heard about the US not getting the new Golf/Rabbit R32 factory tuner — or that some manner of "R36" was imminent — says AutoWeek. VW reportedly confirmed the R32 will hit these shores in 2007 a 2008 model. As we said of the European model, introduced at the Frankfurt show last year, "The 2006 R32's 3.2-liter V6 gets a 10hp boost, via FSI technology (that's direct injection to the acronymically challenged), to 247hp. A Haldex AWD system doles the power to the four corners like a meth-addicted croupier. A DSG autoshift box is a $1,600 option in the UK, and reduces zero-to-62 mph times to 6.2 seconds from the manual's 6.5 seconds." Hot hatch-o-rific. More »

10:24 AM on Tue Jun 20 2006
By Mike Spinelli
4,407 views, 10 comments

Latest by fjork_duf: According to the owner of vwvortex.com Jamie (who usually gets a ton of inside vw information) the car will be a 2 door DSG version. The manual 6 is not coming here supposedly. I guess since vw certified the DSG more »

news: test drives

Test Driving the VW Golf R32

The US market hasn't yet gotten word on delivery of the new R32 Golf, but the VW Vortex gang says we're blocked until 2007, when a 300hp R36 (sporting the Passat's 3.6-liter VR6) arrives. For now, we're expected to be sated by second-hand accounts of the Europeans' rave-inducing Mk5 generation R32. "Only above 145mph did the limitations of that hatchback body begin to take effect, causing the car to labor up to its 154mph limit," writes Euan Sey of a recent autobahn leg-stretch in the R32. And that's just the bad news. More »

12:52 PM on Mon Oct 10 2005
By Mike Spinelli
488 views

news

Volkswagen R32 4Motion Goes on Sale in Europe in November, US Snubbed

While we've yet to get a line on when the 2006 VW Golf R32 4Motion will come to the US, at least we've heard it is coming, a prospect that was vague up until earlier this week. According to Autocar, The UK model will cost around 23,745 for the three-door, six-speed manual, which will likely translate into slightly more than $30,000 (not a direct currency exchange) in the states, where it will compete with its Audi A3 cousin. The 2006 R32's 3.2-liter V6 gets a 10hp boost, via FSI technology (that's direct injection to the acronymically challenged), to 247hp. A Haldex AWD system doles the power to the four corners like a meth-addicted croupier. A DSG autoshift box is a $1,600 option in the UK, and reduces zero-to-62 mph times to 6.2 seconds from the manual's 6.5 seconds. Then again, if a well-stocked 2006 Audi A3 — with similar performance — stickers for around $31,000, maybe VW will back the price into the 20s. Keep hope alive. More »

3:41 PM on Fri Sep 23 2005
By Mike Spinelli
1,629 views

news

Volkswagen to Introduce New Golf R32 in Frankfurt

vw_r32_front.jpgVolkswagen's high-performance Golf R32 hot hatchback was such a surprise hit, the company couldn't keep potential buyers supplied — even in the hatch-unfriendly US. That's probably because the R32 offered Porsche 911 fun at less than half the price. Now, the company is launching a new generation of the Most Fastest Golf, which it will unveil at the Frankfurt show. More »

11:08 AM on Tue Aug 9 2005
By Mike Spinelli
377 views