But what did it thus arrive at this VW Golf series 1 which travels the buttocks in the air and exhibe its engine in a impudic way ? It quite simply met Franco Sbarro which, to satisfy a Swiss customer, made him undergo some... transformations !



First of all, the most visible modification and most spectacular relates to the back which is raised thanks to a hydraulic system. A few years later, Sbarro took again this system on the Chrono 3.5. With a certain humour, Sbarro declared that this system was " very practical to work on the engine ", and that " moreover, it is always pleasant to show the posterior statement with the other cars which one on the spot leaves when traffic lights become green " ! People who saw this Sbarro-Golf especially retained this characteristic, so much so that I did not find any photograph of the car in low position !



Other modification, less visible (except raised back !), is the replacement of the VW engine by a 330 bhp Porsche 911 turbo flat-6. The car is mid-engined : the flat-6 is in the place of the back bench. In the front, Sbarro installed a reserve of 100 liters, to obtain an ideal distribution of the weight of 50:50.



Outside, in low position, the Sbarro-Golf plays an underhand game. The only visible modifications are the two side air intakes and broader tires. In short, a wolf in a sheep!



First VW transformed by Franco Sbarro, this Golf is an example of one of the facets of the talent of Sbarro : to install a powerfull engine in a small car. The Golf 300 S will be an evolution thereafter, powered by an Porsche 928 V8-engine. But this is another history...

© text Philippe Calvet, 2001 (translation by Babelfish, altavista.com)

specifications



Sbarro VW Golf Turbo
engine

flat-6 (Porsche 930)
disposition

mid-engine

3299 cc - (97x74,4 mm)


injection K-Jetronic

turbocompresseur KKK (0,8 bar)
power (ch à tr/mn)

330 bhp à 5500 rpm
torque (mkg à tr/mn)

44 mkg à 4000 rpm
transmission

rear-wheel-drive

5-speed manual (Porsche)
brakes

4 vented discs (Porsche), no ABS
tyres

Pirelli P7 195/15 (front) - 225/15 (rear)
weight

1100 kg
tank

100 l
top speed

250 km/h (or +260 km/h)
0 to 100 km/h (62 mph)

about 6 s