2002 Volkswagen GTI 337

Q-Ships: decoy boats used by the British in World War I to defeat German submarines. They were disguised as merchant vessels to entice enemy subs to the surface but once the enemy took the bait, the Q-Ships would unleash hell with a barrage of gunfire.

Meet Kinetic Motorsport's Q-Ship, a stock '02 VW GTI 337 on the outside, but with enough firepower to destroy a Porsche 997 in a straight line or on the track.

Out of the box, a 337 is already sporty with 18x7.5" BBS RC wheels, factory body kit, indestructible 02M six-speed transmission plus unique aluminum trim and Recaro seats. It also didn't get a sunroof to help structural rigidity and handling.

With only 1500 sold in the US and 200 in Canada, the 337 is a VW landmark. But even to the educated Dubber, Kinetic's 337 could easily be overlooked because it's "stock." But this was the intention of Kinetic Motorsport's co-owner, Shawn Van Neer. "I built the car so it wouldn't take second place," he explained. "It's my personal car, not a Kinetic car, but I built it to show what we're capable of."

To get a feel for the car, we traveled to Kinetic's facility in Surrey, BC, Canada to take a test drive with Shawn. My first instinct was to drive the car normally, which it does amazingly well. After checking its daily drivability, my right foot lay into the throttle. In first, second and third gears, the turbo and tires screeched. Some skill is required to feather the throttle in order to keep the tires gripped and under control. And before we knew it, we were in fourth gear, passing 120mph by the end of the block. With the intersection approaching, I backed off the gas and jumped on the brake pedal. The car slowed with ease before the stoplight. Exhale...

Garrett GT3040 turbo boosts 1.8T to reach 400whp

Shawn's 337 is menacing yet well-balanced. During acceleration, the car feels smooth but pulls incredibly hard in each gear, with no surging or sudden jolts. When Shawn told us he could walk on Porsche 997s, he wasn't joking. This 337 has the speed, stopping power and suspension engineered for the track. Perhaps the most surprising factor is its drivability. With over 200whp per liter, the car breathes normally. The idle is smooth and it remains quiet around the city.

So how did Shawn do it? It started with horsepower and torque. We've all heard the push-and-pull theory of how torque pushes you off the starting line giving you instant thrust, while horsepower pushes you at higher speeds once are a going. For the combination of power Shawn wanted, he had to sacrifice some torque in order to achieve the desired horsepower. But that doesn't mean this car can't run off the line. It's still quick to accelerate, and thanks to a heat-shielded Garrett GT3040 ball-bearing turbocharger, it spools at 4000rpm.

The help of Schrick 268/260 cams operating Supertech titanium valve springs and retainers allows the big-turbo motor to gain top-end power and rev to near 8000rpm. This is especially important because the operating range of the turbo favors higher rpms, making the car a highway hauler.

A four cylinder motor crammed with so much power warrants a reinforced bottom-end, so Integrated Engineering connecting rods were used, secured by ARP hardware. Shawn opted to retain the stock pistons for reliability. "Motors with forged pistons tend to smoke on deceleration and wear out quickly," Shawn commented. "It's not a good choice for a daily-driven street motor."

Maximum airflow is important for engine efficiency, so the stock head was ported and polished by Shawn's friend, Ferrial, the "head whore." The long-branch headers also contributed, using 0.5" thick flanges and stainless tubing. The exhaust is a 3" system utilizing Vibrant V-bands and muffler. A prototype high-flow intake manifold and beefier VR6 throttle body were also included to maximize flow into the combustion chamber.

Initial flow bench testing of the head, cams, intake manifold and header were calculated to pick up a whopping 66whp.