1993 VW Corrado SLC

After my Jetta GLi, I picked up another car I that I loved as a kid. A 1993 Volkswagen Corrado SLC with the 2.8 liter 12 valve VR6. 180hp, and 2600lbs with an "active," speed-dependent, deployable spoiler. I owned it from September 2002 until July 2004, and drove it from 90,000 to 130,000 miles.

The car had a rough life up before I got my hands on it. It began life as a VW demo car, meaning that journalists wailed on it. The first owner after VWNA managed to wreck it badly enough for the accident to show up on Carfax. It changed hands a couple times, and ultimately was reposessed and sold at auction, where I picked up its story. A friend of a friend had bought it at auction and the car had sat for nearly a year. When I bought it for practically nothing, it was missing the front bumper and fog lights. The paint was badly oxidized (it was pink), and there was a big dent in the rear fender flare that was shredding the tire. The clear coat had failed in several spots. A truly sad state of disrepair for an exceptional car.

However, it was not without modification. The exhaust was modified to eliminate the resonator, and a 12 gauge fart cannon was installed in place of the muffler. Real nice. It had Koni adjustable shocks with Neuspeed springs. There was an intake, and the ECU was chipped. It is also highly likely that the engine was cammed, as this was still the fastest VR6 that I’ve ever driven. I purchased a new bumper and lights, and had the body fixed. I thought I was good to go, only to discover the joys of a Karman built vehicle as the heater core went, and the headlight switch caught fire. Oh, rapture.

It rattled, but I didn’t care since it was a blast to drive. The car went to Watkins Glen, NHIS, and Lime Rock with me over the next two years. Most of that was in the rain, where it completely dominated. I removed the fart gun and replaced it with a stock muffler, but it still didn’t quiet down. I put on full track pads and drove it so hard that the rotors turned blue. I ultimately had to sell it to get enough money together for a down payment on our house.

The full mod list.

Neuspeed Springs

Neuspeed P-flo

Autotech 12mm wires

Neuspeed Strut bar

Alpine stereo

TSW 17” wheels with Yokohama Parada 2s

BBS baskets weaves with Dunlop winter sports for the snow.

Koni yellows

Slotted rotors

Brake ducts

Dietrich fiberglass RS4 style bumper

Resonator delete

Dieselgeek.com short shift kit