Watch: The Up GTI Takes on a Kart Track

The Up! GTI is the smallest GTI since the original and so has mostly been compared to the Mk1 Golf—the figures are pretty staggeringly similar, after all. But it’s easy to forget that it has actual competition.

The Renault Twingo GT is perfect competition for the Up! in a lot of ways. Both cars make around 110 hp, both weigh around about 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs), and both fit into Europe’s supermini segment. Best of all, the Twingo is French, so it’s a good old-fashioned European showdown.

And while we all feel a twinge of jealousy when we hear about the Up! GTI, the Twingo has a few advantages over the German. Whereas the VW dully puts its engine in the front, the French car intriguingly stuffs it in the back, sending power to that same end’s wheels.

Fortunately, in the 40-ish years since VW started stuffing engines into the front of its cars, they’ve learned a thing or two, and on a kart track in Milton Keynes—wherever that is—the handling advantage goes to the GTI.

In fact, as a package, Motor1’s Vicky Parrot finds that the GTI is not only better on the diminutive track, but out on real roads, too. More comfortable, more practical, and more special, the Up! GTI is just better. Which, now that I think about it, is kind of a bummer because, since the Twingo is essentially a Smart Car, I could have probably driven it.

Crap.

The post Watch: The Up GTI Takes on a Kart Track appeared first on VWVortex.

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Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway

Waterfest 24 will be held at Atco Dragway, in Atco, New Jersey. The summer event will take place at its new venue on July 21 and 22. Long held in Englishtown, New Jersey, the festival has been such a large part of the VW scene that the latest iteration of the Golf even comes with optional “Englishtown” wheels . The new venue, however, is an NHRA drag track a scant 52 miles southwest of Englishtown. The ¼ mile drag track opened in 1960, which makes it the oldest drag strip in New Jersey. The announcement came today on a social media post that announced the new location. Waterfest is North America’s largest VW/Audi show. As many 20,000 people show up for the annual show, making the second largest show in the world—with Worthersee being number one. 2018 will be Waterfest’s 24 th year in existence. The post Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2GQjkuc via IFTTT

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