Tuned VW Golf I GTI Pirelli throws around with 600 PS

D he VW Golf I GTI Pirelli was from the outside easy to recognize. A striking feature were the 6x14 inch light alloy wheels with the Pirelli logo. The compact sports car looked through two twin headlights. At the end of production, they increased the overtaking prestige of the VW Golf I GTI.

Traction only from third gear

Patrick Mielke, who with his Company PM Custommade specializes in the customization of cars, has upgraded its Pirelli Golf to two headlights. His GTI doesn't have to pretend overtaking prestige. “I bought it from a friend. The car was completely dismantled at the time. I rebuilt it and removed the headlights for purely visual reasons, ”says the owner, in whose hands the Pirelli Golf grew into a monster.

The first GTI special edition featured a 1.8-liter engine with 112 hp. 33 years later, with this performance, the Pirelli Golf would be a cuddly cat in the midst of a herd of wild bulldogs. Seat Leon Cupra (300 PS), VW Golf R (300 PS), Ford Focus RS (350 PS), Audi RS 3 (367 PS), BMW M2 (370 PS) and Mercedes-AMG A 45 (381 PS) show off their horsepower like Cristiano Ronaldo after a goal. But PM Custommade taught the VW Golf I GTI Pirelli to bark. And so it should scare even today's compact sports cars.

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This is what the original Pirelli edition from 1983 looked like.

Mielkes Pirelli-Golf, painted in Lhasa green metallic, develops 600 hp and around 750 Nm. He estimates that the compact sports car could tear off the 0-100 sprint in 4.5 seconds - yes, if the tires didn't spin. “The performance is brutaloversized. You can say that the car does not really build up traction until the end of third and beginning of fourth gear. ”In the first two gears, the Golf clouds its surroundings - if you want to. To ensure that the performance doesn't just vanish into thin air with white clouds of smoke, Mielke straps the car onto semi-slicks, which he pulls onto 15-inch rims. As a second wheel set, he offers normal road tires that are on 17 inchers.

Tuned VW Golf I GTI Pirelli for 19,000 euros

Headlights and rims no longer correspond to the original. The engine is also different. Mielke wired the 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbo 20V from the Golf IV in the Pirelli special edition, of which VW manufactured over 10,000 units at the time. PM Custommade pimped the aggregate according to every trick in the book. The list of changes: a self-directed turbocharger (based on the Garrett GTW 34), a self-made injection rail, special injection nozzles, own shock-charging manifold, 76 mm intake pipe, 76 mm exhaust system, Setrab intercooler, two fuel pumps, external wastegate valve and aeromotive fuel pressure regulator . The power transmission is guaranteed by a 02M 6-speed gearbox with a reinforced gear set. A feast for the eyes: the open shift gate in the interior.

So that the driver is informed about all vital organs of the engine, Mielke has installed new displays for oil pressure, boost pressure, fuel pressure and exhaust gas temperature in the dashboard. Recaro sports seats clamp the occupants in the tuned Pirelli Golf, a roll cage is supposed to guarantee safety. With a coilover kit, the GTI should come around corners better and a new braking system should catch it from high speeds.

The Monster GTI is for sale on mobile.de. Mielke estimates a fixed price of 19,000 euros. Here is the offer. In our photo show we show you the 600 hp VW Golf I GTI Pirelli.