Few Polos look as sweet as this low-rider golden brown gobstopper...

Words: Matt Zollo  Pics: Igor Vucinic

A fter years associated with poverty-spec family cars, low-rent taxi cabs and ratty old Transit vans, the colour white has enjoyed something of a renaissance. In 2003 you’d have been mad to spec a Mk4 GTi in the colour, yet just two years later and you’d have been mad not to order a Mk5 GTi in Candy White. Now it’s on every car makers’ options list, and manufacturers are still handing out white press cars like their sales figures depend upon it.

Well, brown is the new white. The last time it was cool was back in the trippy ‘70s, when rich people were ordering SL Mercs in Tobacco and normal people were ordering Austin Allegros in puke brown. It seems its time has come again and, as with white, it’s posh car makers leading the way, the likes of Porsche, Infinity and BMW all recently reintroducing various shades of the earthy colour to their charts.

Naturally the aftermarket was ahead of the mass market on this one, and brown has been a staple of the scene for quite some time. This 6N Polo, owned by Tom Güntner, proves that point (and then some), and also demonstrates just how successfully the look can be pulled off and to what extent it can be taken to. It’s been a long and expensive process for Tom, but the results are clearly worth it.

“It began in February 2000, six weeks before my 17th birthday,” he recalls. “All my friends were a little bit older than me and already played around with cars, and I used to help them. At that time I really liked the Polo 6N, and one day we drove to our local VW dealer and I saw this. I liked the car from the first second and decided to buy it. In the following year I ordered an FK coilover suspension kit and RSL Cult wheels – I was 18-years-old and very proud of my ride!”

PROFILE

NAME:
Thomas Güntner
LOCATION:
Regensburg, Germany
OCCUPATION:
Industrial maintenance and repair mechanic
DREAM CAR:
RS Audi/Audi 50 GLS
FAVE MOD ON CAR:
Interior GRP and trimming work
TOP CHOONZ:
Smudo – Le Smou

THE KNOWLEDGE

Engine:
1.4-litre eight-valve four-cylinder, K&N air filter, airbox and engine cover trimmed in leather, plastic parts painted matt black, various chrome-plated components (motor mount, bonnet lock, bonnet struts, valve cover), lock carrier and bulkhead cover cleaned-up and body-coloured
Transmission:
Standard five-speed manual
Suspension:
G.A.S. V1 air suspension with double bellows at the front and roll bellows at the rear, Koni dampers with two valves per damper, Viair 550C compressor, two 11.5-litre tanks, gauges for tank and axle
Brakes:
Audi S3 8L ATE54 front calipers and Mk3 Golf VR6 Lucas rear calipers with 312mm front and 226mm rear drilled Zimmermann discs, 5x100 conversion
Wheels & Tyres:
High gloss compacted 6.5x16 ET41 seven-hole Alfa Romeo rims running H&R 20mm 5x100 to 5x98 adapters, Nankang NS2 165/40R16 tyres
Bodywork:
Respray in Nissan pearlescent chocolate brown, front and rear bumpers cleaned, evil eye bonnet, washer nozzles, roof aerial, badges, tailgate handle, rear wiper, side repeaters and wing mirrors removed, modified wheel arches, smoothed fuel cap, door handle cups flushed, chromed Lupo GTi aero twin wiper, 6N2 rear light clusters, in.pro clear front headlight glass
Interior:
Modified dashboard (with tweeter pods), custom-made fibreglass door cards (with five-litre enclosures for speakers), rear quarter panels, centre console and tunnel, re-trimmed throughout in Porsche 996 Terracotta leather or matching alcantara, all other plastics and trim painted to match, air vents blanked for suspension pressure gauges, Audi A3 8P gear lever, gaiter and shift gate, custom-made front arm-rest, Mk4 Golf GTi Recaro front seats and rear bench with arm rest, Raid airbag steering wheel, GTi red backlighting, Audi-style red and white dials
ICE:
JVC DVD headunit, Hertz MLK Mille component front speakers, Fostex FE103 full range rear speakers, Hertz HX 250 subwoofer, Audison LRX 6.9 6-Kanal amplifier, Zenec 7in monitor in engine bay, Audison 1.3F capacitor, Stinger SP1000 battery
 

Thanks:
“My technology guru Wolfi, Mike for the bodywork, Alexander Fau (www.ledermania.de) for the interior trimming, Alois Hankofer at www.ah-exclusive-parts.com, and of course all who have supported me with my project"

To read the rest of this feature see the April 2012 issue of Golf+. Available to buy here