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Find Of The Day: A Different Kind Of Rocky Mountain High

If you’ve ever dreamed of moving to Denver, Colorado, you probably picture yourself hiking mountain trails, fly fishing in a beautiful stream, and skiing in the winters. The Rocky Mountains offer a variety of outdoor activities. Today’s Find Of The Day presents an intriguing alternative for your free time if you’re not the “outdoorsy” type.

When it was released in late 2005 as a 2006 model, the Jetta GLI took Volkswagen’s performance sedan in a new direction. It came standard with the all-new 2.0-liter direct-injection turbocharged engine. With 200HP mated to a either a manual or their (relatively new) dual-clutch gearbox the car rocketed to 60 in around 7 seconds. Impressive. With its fully independent rear suspension, it handled curves beautifully.

Inside the GLI had an upscale fit and finish with a fantastic flat-bottom steering wheel, silicon-dampened latches and handles, fine-grain plastics, soft-touch everything, and in “Package 2” cars, aggressively-bolstered seats covered in thick leather. The GLI was a baby-Audi; the only thing missing was all-wheel-drive.

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

This 2007 Jetta GLI adds the piece of performance the stock GLI may have been missing. And it throws out everything else in search of faster times up mountain roads. What we’re looking at here is a genuine race car. We can’t begin to cover all the upgrades (although we tried last year), so check out the ad for everything.

The highlight here is the AWD system. Using bits from various Audis, this GLI has power going to all four wheels. Under the hood, there’s an upgraded Borg-Warner turbocharger, upgraded pistons and rods, and a whole lot more. This Jetta makes a minimum of 450 horsepower. And it all ties to a DSG gearbox, so if you’ve never mastered the third pedal, no need to worry with this car.

Like any real racer, the interior is gutted. The soft-touch plastics, silicon-dampened bits, and sumptuous leather seats: all gone. Now there’s just a Sparco racing seat, a roll cage, a quick-release steering wheel, and not much else.

So if you’ve dreamed of exploring Colorado’s beauty but you own driving shoes and not hiking boots, here’s a very different way to do it. Go to Colorado, get high…up a mountain. Fast.

Want to know more about this 2007 AWD Jetta GLI racecar? Check out the ad in our classifieds. Current asking price: $25,000. Contact VWVortex member xbluewaterx for more information.

The post Find Of The Day: A Different Kind Of Rocky Mountain High appeared first on VWVortex.



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