International Incident - Event Coverage

GTI InternationalUnless you're given clear indicators to spot the difference, it's next to impossible to notice spring has gone and summer has arrived in the UK. So, for VW nuts at least, there's more than one reason to be glad in mid-May when the iconic GTI banner is raised once again for the two-day gathering of the finest and freakiest Dubs the small island can boast (and a good few from farther afield). Welcome back, GTI International.

It's only been staged at its current venue in Ipswich for a few years, but already the nigh-on religious experience of queuing at its gates feels like coming home.

In terms of sheer numbers, there was no disappointment. Countless Golfs, Jettas and Polos swamped the lots and there was even the odd Passat, Skoda and Audi uniting the VAG brethren. Checking out the license plates, guys had clearly made the trek from Holland, Belgium and Germany, but inexplicably the French once again were noticeable only by their absence - bizarre when you consider they're closer than anybody else and there's a tunnel that permanently links the two countries. But who can explain why the French do what they do?

At this year's show, the popular retro trend was easily understood after glancing at the fantastic examples sporting this new/old-skool style. There were hundreds of them with skinny Ronal Turbo-like alloys and simple body mods on Polos and Mk1s. They were making a big case for the "less is more" argument.

If you want power in your Mk2, you're not going to do much better than slamming a TVR V8 engine under the hood. Although a small British sports car company (best known in the USA as transport for John Travolta in the film Swordfish), TVR has a reputation for big output, astonishing exhaust notes and brutal performance. It's almost a UK muscle car, so you understand why somebody would bolt the powerplant and transmission into a tiny Mk2. The guys didn't have to do anything more than start it up to draw in the crowds. As for its appearance, well, there wasn't much beyond rat styling and a paint job the guys were inviting the crowd to write on, but there's more to come and we're gonna make sure you get the lowdown when it's finished.

Speaking of paint jobs, the fancy flip is definitely on the way out, being replaced by solid colors. We've only just caught up with the two-tone craze, but it was making a big impression this year with everything from Caddys to Jettas getting the double-impact finish. Equally as popular were '70s and '80s shades of brown, green and orange, which weren't half as bad as they sound.

As always, there were a few horrors that inflate the ego of those who haven't chosen to go down that particular styling route. One peach-colored Mk2 with every panel contorted into precisely the wrong shape sprang to everybody's mind, while the guys who'd fitted big wings and rice bumpers were making it too easy for the rest of us to point and laugh.

Fortunately, the quarter-mile was open to equalize all the competitors. How about a sub-11sec run to get your eyes and ears watering? OK, if you bolt a quattro's drivetrain into your Mk1, you're certain to get some quick results, but the Dubweiser car looks the part too, with bulging arches the only way to get those rims legally covered. And while an 11sec quarter may not be so impressive on that side of the pond, over here it's still considered quick, especially when you realize it takes place on an old concrete runway, not a prepared track, and that we tend to build our cars to go around corners rather than in straight lines.

It was shameful to see that the fastest Mk3 was beaten by a Mk2 Driver (Golf with GTI trim but four-cylinder, single-carb motor). OK, it had a 20v turbo engine, but all the same...