By James Wong
04.17.2009
Birds are chirping. A cool chill descends upon the island and the sky is still pitch-black. Most people are still in bed enjoying the sleep-in of their early Saturday morning. However, two men with petrol in their blood met at the unholy hours of the morning to go for a blast up the infamous North-South Highway (NSH) of Malaysia. Sounds like fun? Read on.
First up, let’s us introduce the cars. I will be driving the MkV Volkswagen GTI. The MkV GTI has had countless accolades since its inception in 2004, with many regarding it as the quintessential hot hatch. There’s no denying that this is an excellent all-rounder that competently combines practicality with sportiness. Its 2.0TFSI engine, when mated to the Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG, VW speak for a double-clutch gearbox), works seamlessly to put down all 200 horses down on the road with minimal lag.
What we have this morning, however, is slightly different.
On first inspection, the car looks just like a normal GTI with a Vortex body kit. Shod with 18” OEM VW Khartoum rims and a subtle body kit, the car looks tame and yet unmistakably sporty as it sits dormant in the garage. On closer observation, the car’s front brakes have been swapped for 4-pot AP Racing brakes and the rear exhausts have been fitted with stock-looking mTm pipes. This is no ordinary GTI however. Packing 272PS and 370Nm from its 2.0TFSI engine, this car’s claimed century sprint is claimed to be 6.3 seconds. It’ll also do a lot of wheel spins with a careless right foot. What gives it such a big power upgrade? Namely, the turboback mTm exhausts allow a freer flow of exhaust gases out, allowing the engine to run more efficiently. There is also a mTm Stage 2 ECU upgrade which releases the potential of the 2.0TFSI. Right, with so much talk, we’ll see later how it fares on the road.
You have probably read by now that Saturn has an interested buyer named Telesto Ventures (sounds like a wireless phone company, doesn’t it?) who made their intentions known in the last 48 hours.
Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat, told reporters today that Fiat will walk away from their non-binding agreement to take an initial 20% stake in Chrysler LLC and share their small car technology with the American company if their terms are not met.
As somebody who has owned Saab and Volvo cars for over a decade, I have become accustomed to both marques’ accommodating dealers who make service loaner vehicles available for all-day (and longer) service appointments.
Italian cars are no stranger to history. Dating back to as early as the 1920s, Maserati has been making racing cars to compete in races that included illustrious competitors like Auto Union (which eventually became Audi) and Mercedes. Ferrari, a name synonymous with the F1 Grand Prix, is still a force to be reckoned with in the racing scene, having taken 1st place in the Constructor’s Championship for both 2007 and 2008. In the 1960s, Lamborghini built a car called the Miura which, up till today, is still looking as good as ever. Pagani, although a relatively new company set up in the 1990s, restored whatever lost faith people had in Italian cars by building outrageously opulent, gorgeous, manic cars that did not live by the constraints of conformity and tastes of the bourgeoisie. As one can plainly see, the reputation of Italian cars did not come out of nowhere – their colourful and deep history serves in some way or another to contribute to the appeal of Italian cars.
