1998 VW Golf GTI
The warmth of the '98 Volkswagen GTI 2.0 seen here is like a serene mid-summer's afternoon. The fresh Ginster yellow paint looks alluring across the perfectly sculpted Mk3 body with its shaved accents and Jetta front-end. Matched with timeless BBS RS wheels, this GTI is as easy to admire as an Ansel Adams photograph.Pop the hood and you'll find this two.slow isn't so innocent after all. The black and yellow engine bay houses a hybrid turbo setup that produces over 300hp, nearly triple the stock output. Combined with the lightweight chassis, motorsport-themed interior and balanced chassis, this cute yellow two-door can leave you black and blue, especially if you think your chipped Mk5 or modified BMW 330i can outshine it on the street or track.
The masterminds behind the Killer Bee GTI are Joe Flaherty, Daniel Coop, Adam Ligon and Paul Carr. They're the four musketeers at Black Forest Industries (BFI) in Cary, NC. Founded in '01, the tuner originally focused on BMW platforms, but has since shifted its attention to the VW/Audi market, mixing in a little Porsche as well. Developing its reputation, BFI continues to manufacture and offer parts such as bushings, mounts and wheel spacers.
But the achievements of this bumble-bee are hard to ignore. It's been the company's baby for a couple of years, yet took the team only 40 days to finally complete.
Perhaps, the beauty behind the BFI bee isn't its charm or impressive power output, but the overall budget and long-term reliability. The plan was to incorporate aftermarket parts that would perform well above the car's factory potential. However, they wanted to do it without jeopardizing the vehicle's daily drivability and their credit balance as well."We put as many of our own off-the-shelf parts as we could on this car. It was a build designed for somebody with a reasonable budget - an everyman's project," Joe Flaherty explained. "The car gets attention but it isn't that expensive. Even if you earn a small salary, you could build this car."
According to Black Forest, a person who can wrench could recreate something similar for around $10k. And that even includes the price of the car!
BFI started the project with the engine. Not having the displacement of the VR6, the four-cylinder 8v produced a mind-numbing 115hp and 135 lb-ft of torque from the factory. And with over 100k miles on the odometer, you can bet it wasn't running as efficiently either. So the guys at BFI devised a game plan to maximize the motor without spending too much out of pocket.
"Somebody isn't going to spend money on machine work, rods and pistons as part of a budget build. So we tested the limits of the stock motor," Joe said.
Not so two.slow anymore, this...
Not so two.slow anymore, this Killer Bee has 266whp and 284 lb-ft
The hybrid setup was enhanced with an air-to-water intercooler designed by BFI. While it keeps intake temperatures cool, a modified USRT short-runner intake manifold decreases the distance the air travels to the cylinders, thus improving the power at the top-end. BFI had to modify the manifold to reposition the throttle body in the optimal location.
Not done with the motor, a G60 cam was sourced. Coordinated with a Eurospec adjustable cam gear, this improved throttle response and helped build boost quicker.