Skip to main content

FOTD: Let This Wookie Win A Spot In Your Garage

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

Ahhhh, the Volkswagen R32. In 2003 the engineers at VW blessed the European buying public with a model stuffed full of all their latest goodies. It was as if an enthusiast’s fairy godmother waved her magic wand and all their automotive dreams came true: a torquey 3.2 liter VR6 engine, Haldex AWD, independent rear suspension, upgraded brakes with blue calipers, 18 inch wheels, Konig sport seats, a subtle yet aggressive body kit, and a six-speed manual transmission or the all-new dual clutch DSG transmission. Add to that the luxurious interior, exceptional fit and finish, and dynamic styling of the MKIV models, and fans the world over rejoiced.

Volkswagen added the MKIV R32 to the U.S. lineup in 2004. For years fans had been clamoring for a performance model to take on Subaru’s WRX and Mitsubishi’s EVO. With the powerful engine and all-wheel drive, they thought they finally had the car that bested the others. Many automotive magazines and websites also had high hopes for this car. For the most part, it delivered: 0-60 in 6.6 seconds (6.4 for DSG models) was incredible for the time.

00v0v_2jwlih0ywys_1200x900

But even with all that kit, the R32 didn’t win comparison tests. Reviewers praised the power, torque, and sounds of the six-cylinder engine: the turbocharged fours in the competitors were buzzy and suffered from lag. Things that held it back were weight, a traction-based AWD system that engages when the front wheels slip, and, surprisingly, that the model was too luxurious. Well, they stated the model was more relaxed in its steering and handling than the others, but the R32 wasn’t created to be a balls-to-the-wall model where pure performance numbers were the ultimate goal. No, this was more of a grand tourer. A car with serious performance chops without being harsh. A canyon carver. And while it didn’t win comparisons, it was heaped with praise for being a smooth operator.

00h0h_cxckfl1vuzy_1200x900

If you own one, you’ll find the MKIV R32 has a passionate fan base. Owners flock to the Tail of the Dragon every April for the annual Wookies in the Woods event (the noises from VR6 have been compared to those made by Han Solo’s second in command Chewbacca). I can’t think of a better way to flex this big-engined monster than on the twists and turns of the Dragon.

This Find Of The Day 2004 Deep Blue Pearl MKIV R32 is currently owned by VWVortex user ianfromflorida. It’s located in, you guessed it, Florida. Some recent work has been done focusing on passenger and engine cooling, and the car has new tires. It has 145,000 miles on the odometer. Asking price is $8500. You can find the car in our classified section; more photos are included in the owner’s craigslist ad.

The post FOTD: Let This Wookie Win A Spot In Your Garage appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2q5r0jM
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

    When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier.  The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow.   While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something .  To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it.  Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait.  So with this in mind, we lined our G...

Volkswagen Group Records Best Ever First-Half-of-Year Sales

With 5.5 million vehicles in customer hands after the first six months of 2018, the Volkswagen Group is seeing the best performance of its history. Group deliveries increased significantly in all core regions,” said Fred Kappler, head of sales for the Group. “Our core brands recorded strong growth in the first half year.” For the year-to-date, all of Volkswagen’s brands had sales bumps. MAN, SEAT, and Skoda led the sales charge with performances 24%, 17% and 11% better than the previous year. The big sellers, too, had strong sales periods, with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi, and Volkswagen sales rising 3.5%, 4.5% and 6.3% respectively. That last figure is particularly good new for the board, since Volkswagen alone sold more than 3 million vehicles in the first half of 2018. As Kappler stated, the numbers are equally good when you break sales down by region. Brazil and Russia were the most improved markets (22% and 20%, respectively), while strong sales in Europe and China (u...

Project Golf SportWagen- Intro

I’ve never really been one for SUVs and crossovers.  The current offerings aren’t the body-on-frame, go-anywhere specialty tools I remember from my youth, and what they lack in capability, they also lack in on-road performance. The current crop isn’t terribly good at handling or being efficient, which in my opinion are major components of our ideal driving experience.  So when it comes to space or utility, I usually look for something of the wagon variety- and it seems that I’m not alone. We hit quite a few shows around the east coast each summer, and we see modified Jetta SportWagens at nearly every event. Even amongst common consumers, these cars are highly sought-after. They don’t depreciate much, making even early Mk 5 2.5 versions expensive in comparison to other Jettas or Golfs of the same vintage. This year, Volkswagen launched their latest SportWagen, which is now billed as a Golf.  In many ways, this latest SportWagen is the best yet and it has certai...