All-out stance builds rarely catch my attention these days. Not without a serious performance aspect, at least.
Before demon camber enthusiasts revolt, consider this a change in my car tastes and not a commentary on the stance scene in 2024.
It’s just that after years of being exposed to some of the most stylishmost gangster and the most excessive Standing there, my senses may be a little dulled by a car standing on its back with big shiny wheels sticking out from under the wheel arches.
And yet Players Classic is still my favourite show on the UK calendar, partly because of the variety, but also because it has a habit of reigniting my love of show cars with some exceptional builds.
Builds like Alex Downs’ 1980 VW Golf GLS, which I spent some time with this year’s event.
After his previous project car was hit by an uninsured driver and subsequently written off, Alex went back to the drawing board for a new car. This time he wanted to create a show car that would not only keep up with modern traffic, but also showcase his skills as a classic car restorer.
Back to the bare metal, Alex has restored the Golf from the ground up with raised suspension turrets to match a raised floor/lowered body. This allows the Golf to blow air as low as possible on its custom air suspension; custom GAZ shock absorbers with airbags controlled by Airlift performance management.
The smooth engine bay is clearly visible, but there are more subtle details, such as the custom dovetail-style rear end and subtly flared rear arches. The paint color is a custom mix that Alex came up with.
Below the arches is a set of custom split wheels, again of Alex’s design, machined from billet aluminum to accommodate 34-bolt BBS lips and barrels. The rear wheels are particularly aggressive, with the rear suspension beam tapered four inches to accommodate four-inch lips flush with the bodywork.
The faces have been left in their rough-machined finish – a look I really like – with custom center caps engraved with Alex’s Car Club: The Drivers Collection. A nice addition is the matching fifth wheel as part of the installation of the air suspension system in the trunk.
A standout feature of the Golf, the air ride system, consists of four single-gallon air tanks suspended from hard lines on a plinth. No LED light shows or large acrylic panels reminiscent of gaming PC setups in sight…
…just a trunk floor that’s been matched to the interior and a stunning paint job by Jack Smith of Forged From Flake.
By the way, the Golf’s interior is a mix of custom finishes and some rare parts.
A pair of Recaro Rallye 3 seats, upholstered in chocolate-colored leather with Harris tweed inserts and with a rear end painted in the same color as the bodywork, take center stage.
These rare seats are most notable for their folding mechanism, where you lift the backrest and bolster up and forward. When installed as an OEM seat on the Fiat Ritmo 130 TC Abarth, this movement would cause the headrest to get caught against the headliner, making it difficult for anyone to get into the back of the car.
The rear seat is finished in matching upholstery, with a swallowtail dash, CAE gearshift and Momo Heritage steering wheel that further elevate the cabin. My favourite details are the tinted acrylic sun visors, matching racing helmet and the vintage tobacco tin that houses the Air Lift Performance controller that belonged to Alex’s grandfather.
Smiths’ fuel consumption gauge is always set to ‘good’, a nod to the VW PD130 diesel engine in the slimmed-down space.
The PD130 not only ensures Alex can cover the miles quietly and reliably in his Mk1, it also regularly achieves over 60mpg. All of the 318 stainless steel pie-cut pipework was made by Alex himself in six months, through trial and error in his parents’ garage.
“This car has enormous sentimental value to me,” Alex says:I have built up The Drivers Collection by travelling all over the UK to shows and covering over 20,000 miles since the Golf was first built. I have met some of my best friends and won over 50 awards in this car. I am amazed at how well it has been received, especially for something that is not the usual recipe for a show car!”
A five-door diesel Mk1 Golf is far from what I would describe if you asked me what I look for in a car. And yet here we are, and I think that is exactly what makes this one so special.
Mario Christou
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