Now that Volkswagen has broadened the availability of the Golf R by officially confirming sales for North America, the tunes for the range-topping German hatch have just become a bit more interesting. APS of Brackley, has just announced three stages of performance tuning for the 2.0-litre TFSI, all-wheel drive Golf R, with two being available immediately and the third to be offered in a little while.
The British firm"s Stage 1 kit consists only of a ECU remap, which is good enough to increase peak output from 267bhp to 308 bhp. It is priced at £445.00 including VAT (US$705 / €525).
The Stage 2 package is more comprehensive and includes a Milltek large bore turbo down pipe, high flow sports catalyst and a choice of Milltek stainless steel sports exhausts, featuring a switchable electronic exhaust valve, 2.75 inch bore tubing and dual 100mm ceramic black tailpipes.
APS said customers can choose between a Milltek non-resonated cat-back system, which emphasizes performance and "aural excitement", or a resonated Milltek cat back exhaust, which majors on refinement and also benefits from EC type approval. Depending on the exhaust choice, output is lifted to around 320-330bhp. The Stage 2 kit is priced from £1999 (US$3,165 / €2,355) fitted and including VAT.
Last but not least, APS is readying a Stage 3 package, which comes complete with a revised turbocharger boosting output to 350 bhp. The tuner said the kit is still in development but will be released onto the market soon.
In addition to the power upgrades, APS also offers a range of chassis upgrades for the VW Golf R such as a three way adjustable Haldex Gen4 four wheel drive controller, sports lowering springs, KW height and damping adjustable coilover suspension, uprated suspension bushes, Brembo GT big brake kits, plus 18 or 19 inch Sportec Mono 10 forged alloy wheels with Toyo tires.
