Specialist tuner Oettinger of Friedrichsdorf in Hessen has a long association with Volkswagen's iconic hot hatch, going four decades to a 16-valve Oettinger conversion for the original Golf GTI.
Bringing that partnership right up to date, however, is its brand-new body kit for the recently announced Golf 7 GTI, including a front apron with separate splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser and a rear roof spoiler with open R-Flaps for serious street cred - as well as a sonorous (read loud!) custom exhaust system with twin tailpipes on either side.
The aero kit is made from RIM composites to Volkswagen factory standards and will be available in Germany from August 2013 at €1990 (R26 000) - and it will also fit straight on to VW's new Golf 7 GTD range.
HOT WHEELS
Also due for release in August - at €475 (R6200) each - is a new 8.5 x 19" rim with 50mm offset, which will fit all the quicker variants of the new Golf 7. The new design boasts finely-detailed, laser-cut highlights in either silver or red - the latter exactly matching the traditional Monza Red trim on the Golf 7 GTI.
Oettinger will also offer a range of specifically competition-orientated (not street-legal - in Germany anyway) go-fast goodies for the new GTI, including engine upgrades to as much as 260kW, sports exhausts, adjustable suspension components and dampers, intercoolers, air intakes with sports filters, limited-slip differentials, and uprated clutches and brakes.
Towards the end of 2013 there will also be a new ultra-lightweight Oettinger 10-spoked racing rim, developed specifically for the racetrack but which will also be certified for road use.
Newsletter note: If you use Gmail to read IOL's newsletters, note that Google is rolling out a new tabbed inbox that filters your mail into 5 separate tabs - Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates and Forums. IOL emails will probably be sent to the "Promotions" tab instead of the "Primary" tab. If you don't want it that way, drag the newsletter from the Promotions tab to the Primary tab. An alert will pop up. Click "yes" and your newsletters will continue to go to your Primary inbox.