Swapping a 537-HP VR6 Turbo Into a VW Golf Alltrack Is the Right Choice

Prolific Volkswagen tuner HPA Motorsports found a fun new use for its VR6 crate engine. After building a limited run of 50 VR6-swapped Mk7.5 Golf R hatches, it put the same 2.5-liter engine into a 2019 VW Alltrack wagon.

The VR6 was a fixture in VW’s lineup throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Its narrow V-angle—so narrow that both banks of cylinders share a head—allowed for more displacement in a similar form factor to VW’s existing four-cylinder engines. A 3.2-liter version was famously used in the Mk4 and Mk5 Golf R32, and a 3.6-liter version brought the curtain down on the VR6 in America in the Atlas SUV.

HPA’s VR6 crate engine is neither of those. It’s a Chinese-market engine codenamed DDKA that has two important advantages over USDM VR6s. It’s smaller and lighter than those engines, and is the only VR6 offered with factory turbocharging. HPA calls the crate-engine package the VR550T in reference not only to the turbo but a claimed 550 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque. The Alltrack’s output is slightly lower, at a dyno-confirmed 537 hp and 516 lb-ft on 94-octane fuel.

HPA has been swapping VW engines for 35 years, but the Alltrack presented some unique problems. It’s based on the same MQB platform as the Mk7.5 Golf R, but has some older features like a mechanical parking brake and the DQ250 six-speed DSG transmission, which HPA determined couldn’t handle more than 500 lb-ft of torque. The DQ250 was swapped for the more robust seven-speed DQ381 used in the Mk7.5 Golf R, which required hunting for a trouble code thrown when the transmission tried to connect to an electronic parking brake that wasn’t there.

The VR6 Alltrack was built for a customer and is running great, but HPA’s Marcel Horn would like to change a few more things. It still has the stock suspension, which, with a ride height raised 0.6 inch compared to the Golf SportWagen on which the Alltrack was based, is set up for ground clearance rather than handling. Stronger brakes are also in order to cope with the extra power, and the Alltrack currently lacks the exhaust bypass HPA installs in its other VR550T builds.

Nonetheless, this is a fantastic project. The Alltrack was a great car when new, but over 500 hp makes it even better.

The post Swapping a 537-HP VR6 Turbo Into a VW Golf Alltrack Is the Right Choice appeared first on The Drive.