Drag racing with the GTI

When you talk about drag racing it gets a lot of mixed opinions. For many enthusiasts, thundering down the black top as quickly as possible is just not exciting enough because one has to work harder for a better lap time than a quarter mile time. But I have a different opinion in this regard. Going as fast as possible to record a blistering quarter mile time takes a lot more than just nailing that throttle. It is about launching the vehicle right. It’s also about how quick your reaction time is and finally about the variety of things falling into sync in the car or bike to give you that satisfactory smile at the end of the run. Valley Run has established itself as the most popular drag racing event for some years now. For its 2017 edition, we at Carwale decided to run something special at this festival of speed, the Volkswagen GTI.

Now there is no denying the fact that we at Carwale are totally smitten by the GTI. Now who in their right minds wouldn’t love a small hatchback putting out almost 200 horses (192bhp to be exact). No, it’s not perfect, in fact, it’s far from perfect considering that it costs big money (25.99 lakh Ex-Delhi) for a car that looks almost like the regular Polo minus the rear doors. It also does not boast the luxuries and features that a car in this price tag should ideally get. But then, this isn’t your average road test review. The Volkswagen GTI is here because it boasts the most horsepower in the smallest package and that’s all that matters on the drag strip.

Let’s talk numbers and specs. The GTI gets a 1.8 litre TSI unit under its hood pushing out 192bhp and 250Nm of torque. It also gets the lightening quick 7-speed DSG to transfer the power to wheels as quickly as possible. Talking about wheels and tyres, the GTI gets fat 215 section rubber to put the power down. And finally at 1273kg, it’s just 163kg heavier than the much much lower powered GT TSI. So as far as the specs are considered the GTI is right on the money.

At the strip, the car needs to be devoid of any unnecessary weight at all. So off went the spare wheel and the tools that go with it. Even the fuel was kept to a bare minimum and was just enough for the drag runs. Reducing any kind of weight will always help with better acceleration times.

The other thing that needed to be looked at was the launch. Automatics have a natural tendency to bog down when you launch from zero. So it was imperative to let go of the brakes at the right time so that the car gets a strong surge of uninterrupted acceleration. Also ‘D’ mode works better than ‘S’ simply because in Sports mode the gearbox tends to hold the engine at the upper revs for a longer period which is fine when you are having fun in the twisties and need the car in its peak power band most of the time but not when you want to shift gears as quickly as possible.

So finally it’s my turn and I line up the car. Staging done and I’m waiting for the lights to turn green. Inside the helmet, it’s just anticipation, plenty of sweat and the adrenalin gushing in. The lights finally go green and I mashed the throttle hard enough to dig a hole in the underbody. Traction control turned off, the GTI’s tyres chirped as they struggled for traction and then the strong engine took over. The DSG gearbox made sure the shifts were quick and right in the meat of the power band as the GTI barreled through the airstrip clocking a scorching elapsed time of 14.3 seconds in the first run and 14.5 seconds in the second run. Considering the highly modified Skoda Laura’s with massive turbo’s running drag slick tyres and then some managed times in the early fifteens, the GTI’s times come across as plain brilliant.

At the end of the day, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the GTI. We’ve taken it to the track, tested in real world conditions and now dragged the socks off it and the little car has impressed in all three conditions. But I’m also sad, because the car now has to go back to VW and I can’t think of coughing up enough moolah thanks to the GTI’s expensive price tag. But just maybe, I can convince Vikrant to call for the GTI as my next long termer!

Photos: Ara Alexander & Venkat Desirazu