For 33 year-old Marc-Andr Hubert from Gatineau in Canada, drag racing hasn't been an overnight infatuation. It's been his lifelong passion, starting when he was just 18 years old.
Back then he drove a European-spec Scirocco 16v turbo. He describes it as "super-clean." It was his daily driver for eight years. Along the way it made 406whp and ran 11.6sec quarter miles at 127mph.
"With the urge to continue racing, there was no way I was going to weld a cage into my precious 'Rocco," he told us. "So I sold the rolling chassis and kept the 16v motor."
Then four years ago, Marc bought his current '94 Golf 2.0 and had soon installed the 2.0 16v turbo, mating it to a Dodge automatic tranny.
Although it made 420whp at 20psi on pump gas, he admitted: "I spent too much money on that set up and it never ran right. I had a second child on the way, so decided to sell everything - the wheels, suspension, seat, harness, gauges, steering wheel, etc."
After a year off, family life had stabilized and he could again think about drag racing. "But this time I wouldn't stop until I was the top FWD VW drag racer," he declared.
So in 2008, running the stock tranny and ECU, the Autoxtrm Golf managed a 10.20sec quarter at 150mph. He then set his heart on 9s but came short. However, he'd vowed that nothing would stop him this time, so he contacted Franks Custom Fiberglass in Bernville, PA for a one-pieces front-end and wheelie bars. Then Rick Design in Drummondville, Quebec, made fiberglass doors and a hatch, dropping almost 100 lb from the Golf.
"We lost first place at the Fall Show & Go because we broke gears," Marc reminded us. So he contacted SQS Racing in the Czech Republic to obtain one of its dog-engagement gear sets. "This has been the key to going fast and being reliable," he confirmed.
To address the motor, Autoxtrm's "Piston Pete" CAD-designed a water/air intercooler and the team fabricated a better intake manifold. Then Bullseye Power built a custom AX368 turbo. The result was an additional 105whp at the same 37psi boost pressure, taking the total to 715whp.
Aware of the car's new potential, a tubular front-end and extra reinforcement was added. The cage was also altered and NHRA certified for 8.50sec.
After so much work, the team was rewarded with a 9.76sec run first time out. Then at Show & Go (in this issue) they ran 9.54 at 147mph with 23psi boost. Later they ran on worn-out slicks and recorded 9.67 at 157mph with 31psi.
Since that event, the team has added 15x9" Weld wheels to fit 27x10x15 M&H front slicks (up from 26x8.5x13). They also incorporated new front suspension from Hot Bits, which keeps the car stable at speed.
With the new equipment, Marc's was aiming for low 9sec runs at 31psi. He then planned to step up to full power (39psi) and hopefully record the first-ever 8sec pass from a FWD VW.