Page 30 - Fast Car (March 2020)

HOT RIDE
HO T R ID E
The 3.2-litre VR6 is now Badge of honour
pushing out 289bhp

is a means of locomotion. (The world may

be iguratively shrinking, but despite the
geographical massiveness of reality it’s still
easy enough to actually travel to other bits
of it.) And with the perfect car purchased,
it’s encouraging and endearing to note that
Chris was viewing it as a starting point rather
than a box ticked.
think of anything better?” he grins. “This is prohibitive, but when he reached the age Helpfully Chris is a mechanic by trade,
actually only my third car; my irst was a one- of 22 a couple of years ago it all started to and this growing technological skillset works

litre Polo 6N2, which was the car that started come together. hand-in-hand with a very particular mindset
my love of modifying. I would work all “After a bit of searching, I found this car whereby, as much as humanly possible, he
week, get paid, then buy mods for it! After advertised online,” he recalls. “It was a fair likes to do everything on his cars himself.
a while it was time for change, so I bought distance away, a fourteen-hour round trip, So this is largely a home-brewed build, he’s

a Honda Civic EP3 Type R, and the same but I knew it was the one. I had to have it! got the oily ingernails to prove it, and every
thing happened – I spent all my money on So I made an early start, and by the time I step of the makeover was personal.

it! That was wrapped in yellow and was on got home that night I inally had my own “It means so much more to me to do all

air suspension, which really upset a lot of R32. It was in very good condition, but of the work myself,” he says. “Like itting the
Honda fans…” course it’d be needing my personal touches air-ride system and the boot build, that was
And so the most recent stepping stone to really make it mine…”

represented a logical progression: the irst This is an abject lesson in sheer bloody-
car was a 1.0-litre, the second was a 2.0-litre, minded logic for all those people online OWNER
so three-litres completed the pattern, right? who come out with comments like ‘I’d
Well, 3.2 is close enough, and as it turned love to buy your car, if only you were PROFILE:
out the Mk4 Golf R32 is a car that Chris closer’ – it’s not beyond the wit of man to
had always fancied. The purchase price travel somewhere and then travel home Name: Chris McIntosh
and the insurance costs had thus far been again, particularly given that the car itself Age: 24
Occupation: Mechanic
First car: VW Polo 6N2
Favourite car: Mk4 Golf R32
Favourite modifi cation on your
car: Either the colour or the air sus-
pension, I can’t choose!
Favourite show or event: Dubshed
or FittedUK
Track day or show and shine:
Show and shine
Lessons learned from this project:
You’re never fi nished, you always
want new parts…
What’s next: I have Porsche 996
Turbo front brakes to go on, as well
as a genuine US R32 rear bumper
waiting for paint; the wheels are
going away to get the centres fully
brushed for next year, more carbon
fi bre… and then more memories!

030 www.fastcar.co.uk