2004 Volkswagen GTI - Seriously Euro

2004 VW GTI 1.8T
There's something wrong with this picture. The '04 VW GTI 1.8T you see here is styled seriously Euro, incorporating several parts direct from Germany. It also sits extremely low on wide wheels with stretched tires, and boasts a big turbo under the hood. But let's take a look at the surroundings. Notice the mountains: snow in the distance; dark, gloomy clouds. This US-built GTI isn't from your typical West or East Coast location. Instead it hails from its "no-coast" home of Colorado.

We were surprised to learn this GTI belonged to Eric Skousen from Colorado Springs, CO, a city known for Coors Light and some of America's best ski resorts. At one time, the only automotive legend in Colorado was the Pikes Peak hillclimb, but now Eric has put the Rocky Mountains on the VW map.

Eric has lived in Colorado most of his life and joined the VW community after getting his driver's license. While his friends were putting mud tires on their lifted F150s, Eric picked up the keys to his first Dub, a Mk3 Jetta 2.0.

The young enthusiast moved onto a Mk2 shortly after and then dipped into the tuner market by taking on a job at a performance parts shop which, in due course, led to his own business. "The owner disappeared one day," he told us. "He took the money and ran, leaving me with 200 pending orders. Even though I didn't get paid, I stayed around and helped everybody get what they paid for. Eventually I decided to do it for myself and started Serious Euro Tuning, my own online store. It started four years ago while I was in college and now we offer high-end products for VW, Audi, BMW and other Euros."

At the time of opening his business, Eric ditched the Mk2 for this Silverstone grey GTI. "It worked out that I've been able to use my car as a project to promote many of the products I sell."

Determined to build a clean yet fast Golf, the 1.8T motor was addressed first. In Colorado Springs, altitude is against you since the air is thinner at the city's 5000ft elevation. As a result, Eric knew he needed more than the typical bolt-on upgrades to rival setups on either coast. "I originally did all the bolt-ons like chip, intake, exhaust, etc," he said. "But got bored with the power so decided to piece together my own turbo kit. I did research by riding in other people's cars and going to lots of dyno days. I figured the GT2871R was the turbo to use. I like it because it's cheap yet makes good power."

After acquiring the Garrett ball-bearing turbo, Eric sourced an ATP exhaust manifold and 3" downpipe to fit to the new hardware. More airflow warranted additional fueling, so 440cc injectors, a Walbro inline pump and a 4-bar pressure regulator were added. The stock side-mount intercooler was ditched for a larger Eurojet front-mount, which sits behind the bumper. For cooler air temps, Eric installed a Cry02 intercooler sprayer. A Forge Motorsport diverter valve and boost hoses, along with GHL's exhaust and intake, give the car its peppy sound, quick throttle response and reliability.

Perhaps the most important aspect of a custom turbo kit is the software. It was tackled by Revo Technik and the stage 3 program allows Eric to switch between different programs through a serial port switch. Eric's best numbers on the dyno come from a mixture of race and pump fuel spinning the rollers to 345whp.

Transferring the power to the wheels is the stock five-speed manual, upgraded with a Spec stage 3+ clutch and aluminum flywheel.

Once Eric was happy with the power, he turned his attention to stance and handling. Unlike many US enthusiasts, he shares the European mentality that ultra-low is better. "I had a cup kit before, then coilovers, now air ride," he revealed. "I made the progression and might never go back to coilovers again. With air ride, I can drop the car on the ground and raise it for speed bumps, and the handling is comparable to coilovers."