GTi Engineering

GTi Engineering was formed with motor racing as a backdrop ten years ago, since when it has developed into something altogether different. It was partly for this reason that Roger AbbeyTaylor, who as Managing Director minds the shop for founder Richard Lloyd, decided that the challenge of returning to its roots would be a good shot in the arm. 1977 was the start of three successful years which saw Lloyd win a hat-trick of British Saloon Car Championship class wins in his Golf GTi helping put himself and the car on the map. While Lloyd broadened his horizons by going into sportscar racing on the formation of Richard Lloyd Racing, GTi Engineering was left to plough its own course.

With a reputation now well established on the track, the company turned its attention to tuning and preparing Audis and Volkswagens, not for the track but for the road. It was not long before its attention to detail and the thoroughness of the work brought it to the notice of the British importer and with it the recognition, in 1982, of being an official conversion specialist.

At present both Volkswagen’s 8 and 16-valve engines have been developed by the company, the state of tune dependent on the finance. The Plus Pac is the low cost conversion which nevertheless boosts the top end performance by between 10-20% on both engines, while the RE2000, the most comprehensive conversion, increases both power and torque dramatically. This is achieved by installing a specially machined cylinder block with 82.0mm bore, heavy duty crankshaft bearings, a heavily re-worked cylinder head, a modified distributor and modified injection system. On the 8-valve 36% more power is produced to reach 152 bhp at 5500 rpm while the 16-valve attains 170 bhp at 6000 rpm. WPK