Mike Parkhill's Mk4 VR6 24v featured a C2 Motorsports turbo, Kinesis wheels and took top h
Like baseball athletes descending upon Florida for spring training after a long winter break, Volkswagen and Audi enthusiasts from across the eastern seaboard converged on Englishtown, NJ for the northeast show season opener in April. The Spring Classic VW & Audi Show & Go, organized by German Squad car club, was the first chance for people to scrape the winter grime off their cars and get the 2008 season started with a bang.
The forecast called for a chance of showers, so some may have declined to attend, but there wasn't a drop of rain all day. And with almost 700 registered show cars, there was plenty to look at.
Jetta VRT was easily the fastest, running 11.9 at 112mph while hard on the brakes!
You could find anything from early air-cooled machinery up to the latest and greatest from VAG. Add in drag racing on the quarter-mile and there was something for everybody.
Victor Vazquez, who - along with Jim Moeschen and Rick Lumunyen from German Squad - heads up the show committee, told us Show & Go is designed for the local enthusiasts first, and they limit promotion to Vortex in order to keep the show from becoming overly commercial. This approach works, and it's hard to imagine the laid-back event takes place at the exact same location as the electrifying Waterfest.
That didn't mean there weren't vendors for the attendees to check out. Tuners and parts suppliers such as TyrolSport, NGP Racing, Goingfast Euro Customs and Dub Korps all had tents, plus there was a large swap-meet with both air- and water-cooled parts. This is one of the few shows where you can get your 2008 GTI "chipped" and pick up a front fender for your '62 Beetle at the same time.
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Between the sun and shadow, a number of air-cooleds and newer models attacked the drag strip. Some of the older cars did a good job of keeping up with, or even embarrassing, some of the modern machines. After all, it's not everyday you see a Bug out-pace an R32!
Highlights included a street-mod class Mk3 Jetta VR6 turbo that was easily capable of running in the low 10s, but the driver was tagging the brakes at the end of each run in order to keep from being thrown off the track for not having the proper rollcage for such a fast time. Still, an 11.9sec run while standing on the brakes was an impressive feat. A couple of Mk5 GTIs put on a good show as well, with an APR stage 3 example consistently in the high 12s.
Probably the most unique car was a tiny VW-powered Fiat Abarth, which had no trouble pulling the front wheels off the ground when the lights turned to green.
German Squad members, as well as the show's original organizers, the air-cooled Central Jersey Volkswagen club, judged the show cars. And all in all, it was an ideal way to kick off the 2008 season, with a great range of cars and a great crowd. It definitely left us looking forward to the next event. Here's to the show season fully arriving on the East Coast!
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We predict red is making a comeback. Kyle Locke's Mk4 certainly supports the theory
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Cory Schnupp's Corrado VRT took color-matching to the next level
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Ordinarily we'd frown on any car with a "bra," but Paul Florio's was color-matched to his
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Steve Stasiulewicz had one of the top cars with his uber-spec '97 GTI VRT with gold wheels
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Steve Stasiulewicz had one of the top cars with his uber-spec '97 GTI VRT with gold wheels
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George Almeida's Scirocco pulled a "best in show" with 15" Schmidt TH Line wheels and tast