When Brad Beardow, co-owner of 1552 Design began the design of his own daily driver, he was lucky enough to have plenty of options close at hand. As a distributor for several highly attractive lines within the Volkswagen aftermarket community, he had no shortage of choices.
At the time, had you asked him his ultimate car, he'd have answered the Audi RS2. The potent concoction of one part Porsche supercar one part Audi station wagon spoke to Brad more than any other car out there. However, owning one for use in the United States was just not to be.
Knowing this, Brad set out to create a truly potent and practical car that borrowed heavily from the philosophy behind the Audi RS2. So when the opportunity of purchasing a 1997 Driver's Edition GTI presented itself, he began to hatch his plan.
Painted in Volkswagen's Jazz Blue, which is actually the same paint code as RS2 Blue as well as the Nogarro Blue found on today's S4 models, this rare find presented ample opportunity for the project. The third generation GTI had also been around for quite some time, which meant plenty of options.
Brad began by upgrading the basics. The third generation Golf's suspension was significantly improved by the installation of Koni adjustable coilovers. To further stiffen the chassis, he decided upon a hybrid setup mixing Neuspeed swaybars (25mm front, 28mm rear), an Autotech front upper strut tie bar and a Eurosport rear tie bar.
Following the lead of the Audi RS2, Brad decided on a turbocharger system to bump the performance up to supercar level. An EIP stage 1 turbocharger kit was installed mated to an Autothority chip controlling it to 9lbs. while running stock compression.
No strangers to turbos, 1552 decided to experiment with the kit to some degree. Intended as Brad's own daily driver, he wanted a good compromise between traction and acceleration with a high degree driveability for environments that would consist of spanning weather and traffic conditions.
In an effort to improve throttle response and smooth throttle operation, 1552 changed the design of the blow off valve. The EIP kit's valve vents into the atmosphere, so it was modified to vent back into the VR6's intake. The theory is that this will operate much better on a mass airflow car like the VR6. Having the computer record a certain amount of air coming into the engine and then letting it go without telling the computer seemed to be causing some of the throttle issues. Once modified, Brad saw a big improvement. The only downside to the modification was the loss of the cool blow-off chirping sound. While he misses the chirp, the added performance and driveability were well worth the trade.
To further perfect the look of the engine bay, a set of RS2 blue plug wires were made using Taylor 8mm wire and Beru ends. Literally topping it all off was a carbon-fiber engine cover by Z-engineering.
The turbo system, as it was installed on this VR6, came with a K&N conical filter. EIP also provided a custom 3" straight exhaust system for improved performance and a throatier engine note.
In order to transfer all of that power to the ground, a set of 17X7.5 911 C2 Cup wheels like those on the RS2 were shod with Dunlop SP8000s and installed.
Since stopping is more important than going, Brad chose to upgrade the brakes as well. With the theme of the car so obvious, 1552's Porsche brake conversion was a natural choice. The system installed on this GTI is the same as the one found on a Porsche 993 twin turbo. It consists of rotors and bright red calipers inscribed with the Porsche log in white. Those same calipers are also the same ones used on the European GT2 and GT3 cars. The brakes are attached to the Volkswagen via a machined aluminum hat, allowing them to bolt right on.
Brad is a big fan of this brake system. By dipping into the Porsche partsbin, 1552 has a huge variety of pads to choose from, spanning from Porsche's street compound to the most outrageous ceramic race setup. These particular rotors, measuring about 12.9" are cast with the holes in them. Unlike drilled rotors, these are much less susceptible to cracking while breathing much better.
On the outside, the design of the car was kept very clean. A European VR6 chin spoiler was added, while the stock black side skirts were removed. A set of Votex foglights replaced the stock units, cleaning up the look of the lower light assemblies and a pair of red Hella Color Concept taillights replaced the GTI's stock tinted units at the rear.
The car then made a trip to the bodyshop for minor paintwork. The door handles were color matched in Jazz Blue as were the front and rear Volkswagen emblems, the rear valance and the stock upper rear spoiler. All other emblems including the "GTI" and "VR6" emblems were removed. A pair of Projectzwo exterior rearview mirrors were also painted to match and installed.
To finish the look, an Audi RS2 badge was added to the back of the car.
Careful attention was also paid to the details of the car's interior. 1552 Design has developed a very good relationship with an outside contractor who does extremely clean upholstery work for them, specifically with the revolutionary new Alcantara; a kind of synthetic suede that is optional in the Audi S4 and on some European market Volkswagens.
The first place Alcantara was installed was the GTI's dashboard. This is a popular feature on rally cars for the purpose of minimizing glare, and it looked stunning in the GTI. Matching door panels, shift boot and emergency brake boot were also added, all in an Anthracite Alcantara with cobalt blue stitching.
To further improve the driver's environment of the GTI, a blue Alcantara Sparco steering wheel replaced the stock Volkswagen airbag unit. Other details included Audi TT pedals, an upper glovebox from a 1993 Golf, a Momo super anatomic shiftknob and Recaro SRD Racing seats.
For close monitoring of the turbo system, a VDO boost gauge was installed in the center console bin area.
The car, as you see it here, is certainly not where Brad intended to stop the project. Many additional upgrades were planned. From RPI, a full Syncro all-wheel-drive system had been sourced. In addition an uprated clutch and lightened flywheel were in the works if and when the stock units chose to fail.
The seats were going to be skinned in the same anthracite colored Alcantara and Brad was even figuring a way to graft A2 fender flares to the A3's lines.
This was never to be though, at least on this car. On the day 1552 Design planned their relocation from Alexandria, Virginia to Sarasota, Florida someone within the VW community chose to take the car from Brad's hands. As he was upstairs in his house preparing to leave, he heard the car fire up and watched as it rocketed down the street.
A quick call to 1552's network of employees and friends in the area was to no avail. The car was not spotted that day and has not been seen since.
Perhaps what hurts the most is that this was not a showcar for 1552 design, displaying all of their wares. It was a labor of love on the part of one of the company's owners. There were not as many accessories installed, but significant time and a lot of trial and error were involved in putting the project together. This all paid off, making it a truly capable car and the most capable car Brad has ever owned.
Though not the most radical turbo setup seen running at shows and races, this engine provided an effective compromise between traction, horsepower and acceleration. Brad doesn't drag race. That's not his thing. So there's no reason to floor it in first gear, because it would just be wheel spin anyway. As Brad described it, "It was a process of getting rolling and short shifting into second. Boost came on strong from 2800-3000 rpm. You could floor it in second as long as you were on relatively straight smooth roads where you wouldn't get a lot of wheel spin. In rain, that was a different story."
He went further to say," This was a very controllable car that was my daily driver. People say 320 horsepower is just too much to go through a front wheel drive chassis. I just don't think that's true. I wouldn't want my grandmother driving it, but at the same time, I've driven it in every condition including snow and it was totally drivable."
All told, Brad logged 22,000 miles on the turbocharged engine before the car was taken from his possession. The planned transmission upgrades were going to happen when the stock unit started to give out, though that never happened. He never even experienced clutch slippage.
He often wonders how many miles he could have logged on this more conservative yet capable setup. "I wish whoever stole it would check in once in a while," he mused.
Then thinking how that might go, he recanted. "No, no I wouldn't" he said with a chuckle.
Nevertheless, the car was truly unique and will be sorely missed. Should they be installed on other cars, parts like the dashboard, door panels and brakes could easily be spotted by those who've seen the car.
Luckily, this photo session took place just one week before the GTI was stolen. Perhaps this article will help in identification of it or parts of it as they may surface on other cars.
As for Brad, he made due for a while with a fourth generation wide body GTI for the summer. Now he's back at this RS2 thing like a man posessed. He plans on doing the project all over again, though with a twist. He's picked up a Jazz Blue VR6 Cabrio that 1552 sold to one of their customers two years ago. He's also been talking to the folks at RPI about a Syncro system. For the rest of us, we'll just have to wait until next season to see the results.
1552 Design GTI-RS
Base Car: Engine: Transmission: Color:
1997 GTI Driver's Edition 2.8-liter VR6 (Turbocharged) 5-speed Manual Jazz Blue
