Dragon's Roar
With a body of a supermodel, the car was looking the part but it needed some go. So Matt decided to keep his Zinn philosophy going "getting crazy with it".
His main focus was to do something that hasn't been seen in awhile. He drew his inspiration from the hot rod community and had 4EverKustoms copper-plate the valve cover and fuel rail. For a little contrast, the intake manifold was brass-plated.
While Matt was finishing up the show details, he was missing the power to back it up. And since he didn't want to go to a show with a stock engine, he found a deal on a stage 3 supercharger from VF-Engineering. The polished blower would complement the bling in the bay, but Matt also had the supercharger bracket brass-plated while the side-mount intercooler was covered in copper.
To complete the engine upgrades, he installed Techtonics camshafts, titanium lifters, a downpipe and cat-back exhaust. The forced induction also required a 255 lph Walbro fuel pump and 4-bar fuel-pressure regulator to feed the beast, while a head spacer with ARP head bolts ensured it would stay together under boost.
Hooking power to the wheels was the factory five-speed with a stronger Spec clutch and Peloquin limited-slip diff. Although Matt's never dynoed the car, he estimated 300hp with this setup. "It's not a bad motor," he told us. "I wasn't planning to make it a fast car - I have other cars that are meant for that - I just wanted something reliable I could get in, start up and not worry about."
Champagne Room
Although the exterior of the car first draws your attention, followed by the deep sound of the supercharged VR6, it's the interior that makes you want to kick up your feet, lean back and pop a bottle of champagne. It's outright seductive.
The story behind the interior started from a discussion between Matt and a friend in the UK. "White interiors came up in our conversation and I saw some photos online. I found myself just saying `wow'.
Starting with the drab factory carpet, it was tossed for a new carpet in a similar red to the exterior. More red accents continued with a suede Sparco steering wheel and an Abt shift knob. Matt then pulled the dash, pillars, center console and door sills to dye them white. Finally, Gibble's Upholstery took care of the cream suede and white leather upholstery used on the front and rear seats as well as the New Beetle headrests, headliner, sunroof slide and rear parcel shelf.