NGP Dyno Day 2008

When it comes to cars, no matter what the event, we always enjoy being there if it involves smooth sheetmetal, horses under the hood and friendly faces. Throw some real-deal racecars into the mix and there's not much that will keep us away.

Knowing this, you'll understand why we jumped at the chance once again to head over to NGP Racing for its annual Dyno Day and open house on August 23.

Although it was a sweltering day, plenty of people showed up. And fortunately, NGP helped cool them down with complimentary snowballs - a sort of a mid-Atlantic Slushie.

Not only was there the promise of a gaggle of tuned Volkswagens and Audis, but APR was going to be on-hand with its race rig and trio of Mk5 GTI Koni Challenge racers. Quantum Rally Sport also stopped by with its Mk2 GTI 16v. It's sponsored by NGP Racing, is piloted by twins Josh and Jeremy Wimpy and was seriously well prepared.

As always, the power being thrown down ranged from mild to wild, with the top run of the day going to Jacob Thompson and his Mk4 Jetta VR6 24v turbo. Slapping down a royal straight flush with 506whp, the booted Bora featured a built motor and turbo system from Induktion Motorsports with C2 Motorsports programming, and an impressive song at redline.

NGP's own Arno Kissell had the most powerful TDI on the day, with a solid 182whp in his '00 Golf TDI. If anybody doubts the potential of VAG's oil-burners, this car would convert you. The smoke it produces at full-tilt is something altogether different, but it has the power and clean looks to make a believer out of diehard petrolheads.

Other notable vehicles included Ed Fickert's BMWZ3 M Coupe with a European-spec S50B32 swap, and a Mk4 GTI 1.8T on E85 ethanol. Running APR's 100-octane program, the latter made solid power on the standard K03 turbo and smelled delicious.

The NGP Dyno Day turned out to be a great way to spend a summer's afternoon, with people coming and going all day, enjoying the spectacle, and getting a few ideas for what they might do next to make more power. And as long as there's the promise of free snowballs next year, we'll be there.