Kreuzerfest 2008

It's been a few months since Volkswagen moved its headquarters from Michigan to Virginia, but that didn't stop et from convincing VWoA to surrender its new facility as the starting point for this year's Kreuzerfest.

Almost 100 VW/Audi owners invaded the property to partake in our annual caravan to Englishtown Raceway for Waterfest 14. Although part of the building was still under construction, Kreuzerfest guests were the first to check it out and see some of VW's finest project cars. This included the much-anticipated debut of the GTI W12 650, a lowered Tiguan and the memorable R GTI.

The day started with an early gathering and breakfast provided by VW. It was also the first time the GTI W12 650 was fired up for the North American public. Once the entire group of Kreuzers assembled, we were off to Raceway Park.

Thank goodness no incidents or speeding tickets occurred throughout the cruise, although temperatures crested 100 and many cars battled overheating. Traffic worsened the problem but we made it to Englishtown safely.

Upon arrival, participants were rewarded with several laps around Englishtown's short road course, a Kreuzerfest tradition. We're grateful to be the only caravan permitted on the course, which makes an exciting end to the long cruise.

Despite having drivers of all ages and skills, everybody kept a steady pace without erratic behavior. A speed limit was enforced but it still feels like a race to the death with nearly 15 VWs and Audis on the track at the same time.

If you haven't attended Kreuzerfest before, we encourage you to come next year. It's free to register and 2009 should be even bigger and better! For more details and photos visit www.eurotuner.com

Jetta Cup
For Kreuzerfest, VW was kind enough to loan us this special GLI. It has a place in VW history bcause it's the car that was used at SEMA to unveil the TDI Cup race series. In the absence of any TDI models in the US, this GLI was chosen. As a result, it's like a racecar on the road. It has the TDI Cup-spec Thunder Bunny front end, side skirts and rear valance that are all available through VW's DriverGear accessories program. The trunk spoiler is a Caractere part used on the racecars.

Other TDI Cup parts include the strut tower camber plates, Audi R8 rear caliper bracket and the cat-back exhaust, with resonator and muffler delete. The wheels are regulation 18x8" Ronals as well with Bridgestone RE01R rubber. The GLI also has H&R sway bars and the more comfortable Street coilovers.

As a road car, the GLI was entertaining to drive. The exhaust proved its worth in the Baltimore tunnel but droned too much for daily use - not something it was ever intended for. The ride was characteristically comfortable, as we've come to expect from H&R's Street setup, although it allowed a little too much roll when we got to the road course segment of the Kreuze. That aside, it was a fun experience.

North Leg
With this year's Kreuzerfest only offering one leg from the south, Jon Buttero and Dustin Drummey (et 1/08) organized an unofficial caravan from the north starting at NAMotorsports in Vernon, CT. They reported that by 9:30am there were more than 60 cars packing the building. "It was a morning filled with excitement, energy and some badass cars," we're told. "People were talking, others taking photos, some skateboarding, while many were just waking up."The group planned to head towards East Brunswick, but some wanted to join the main Kreuzers on the track, so headed for Raceway Park. Fortunately, we were able to get a few cars onto the road course and all seemed to enjoy the experience.

GTI W12 650
Nobody could believe the mid-engine GTI W12 650 would ever reach US soil. The German-built GTI is worth over $5 million and a tiny scratch on the custom-made 19" wheels would cost VWoA thousands to repair. However, we have to acknowledge the persistence of Andres Valbuena from VWoA, who coordinated the car's arrival. Problems insuring it meant the W12 couldn't be driven on the streets, but that didn't mean VWoA couldn't show the car. So the 641hp widebody GTI was transported to Waterfest to display in the VW booth. Its next scheduled appearance will be H2O International, with a final stop at SEMA in Vegas. To read more about the GTI W12 650, visit www.eurotuner.com or flip back to et 8/07 for the full feature.