A while back I met up with the guys from Tein at their HQ just south of Tokyo to check out a car they had brought over from the US. At first glance the Tein Golf may look rather sedate, but there is a lot of work that has gone into creating it, starting with the custom wide-body conversion taken care by BRS AutoDesign.

The idea was to build an extreme looking body, that would suit the street and track application of the GTI.

Joining the one-piece widened front arches are the rear overfenders, which are riveted in place for that race-car look. BRS made everything out of FRP to help shave some weight from the car. Up front, the aggressive bumper lets the EuroCode intercooler get optimal air flow, not to mention providing plenty of cooling for the brakes thanks to the side openings.

The rear bumper half-spoiler has been integrated together with the rear diffuser. 

Wheels of choice are AutoArt VY 19-inch split rims wrapped in Falken FK-452 tires, 235/35 on the fronts and  265/35 at the rear. Tein Euro Dampers adjustable coilovers are fitted, along with the EDFC which allows the driver to vary the suspension damper settings from the comfort of the driver's seat. Braking is taken care by the StopTech kit with large 4-piton calipers and grooved 2-piece discs. 

 To complete the exterior of the Golf, Tein called in the help of Seibon who supplied the carbon hood, grille and roof cover.

Again from Seibon are the door cards and rear hatch, parts that all contribute in lowering the curb weight considerably. Once the body was completed it was off to Autowerks who took care of painting the GTI in racing white.

On the engine front Tein combined forces with EuroCode in Torrence CA. The idea was to create a strong motor that would take the abuse of increased boost pressure. This is achieved thanks to a set of forged JE pistons and Carillo rods, which were sent to Cosworth along with the crankshaft and EuroCode flywheel for fine balancing. APR supplied the K04 turbocharger as well as the headers, and helps the strengthened engine crank out a respectable 260 HP and 300 lb/ft of torque. To keep the front tires from vaporizing themselves a Quaife LSD has been thrown in together with an upgraded EuroCode clutch and a set of WPC treated gearbox internals.

I was quite surprised to find a pair of nitrous oxide canisters once I opened the rear hatch. They help cool the front mounted intercooler, specially programmed to spray the frozen gas at full boot or when intake temperatures get too high. 

The interior is spiced up with a pair of Bride Gias reclinable carbon-Kevlar seats, fitted with Takata racing harnesses. To increase torsional rigidity Rothschild Fabrication created a custom bolt-in half roll cage.

Matching the blue backlit instrumentation of the VW Golf is this triplet of Defi gauges mounted in the center console under the Alpine CDA-9857 headunit.

The Defi boost gauge (which reads in PSI) is fitted on the steering column for easy consultation.

As a nice final touch the door panels have been upholstered with smooth suede embossed with the Tein logo. I'm guessing Tein sent the car back to the US as I have not seen it in Japan since shooting it way back.  There were talks of upgrading the turbocharger to get well over 300 HP, I wonder if that has been done? Nonetheless one of the cleanest Golfs around for sure!

- Dino Dalle Carbonare