Cameraperson: Abhishek Ranjan Chaudhary
Video Editor: Kunal Mehra
How different can two cars built on the same body shell be? Well, chalk and cheese actually. Recently, we were at the Buddh International Circuit to drive two cars - the stock Volkswagen Ameo compact sedan and its cousin the Volkswagen Ameo Cup Car.
How different are they?
First the stock Volkswagen Ameo. It is a compact sedan based on the Volkswagen Polo platform. This comes with a 1.5 litre diesel engine that puts out 110PS of power (up from 105 earlier) and 250 Nm of torque. The top-end variant comes with a seven-speed automatic transmission. It is a pretty fun-to-drive car on the road. Its costs Rs 10 lakh ex-showroom.
Out on the Buddh International Circuit, the torquey diesel was quick to accelerate. However, since we had a pace car ahead of us, there was no way we could measure flat out acceleration times as such, but we did cross a 160 kmph on the back straight of the 5.127 km circuit.
Having got a taste of the standard car, it was now time to check out the Volkswagen Ameo Cup spec car. The finals of the Volkswagen Ameo Cup were held earlier in October at the Buddh International Circuit. Taking part in the Ameo Cup is a start for any budding racer who wants to make it to the professional racing circuit. However, it’s an expensive proposition.
The Volkswagen Ameo Cup car is a fully modified, custom-built Ameo. The only things it shares with its road-going sibling is the body shell, cosmetic bits like lights and some internal components. It is powered by a 1.8 litre TSI engine from the VW Polo GTi that puts out 205 PS of power and 320 Nm of torque.
This engine is mated to a six-speed sequential manual/semi-auto gearbox with paddle-shifts for lighting quick shifts. Although we didn’t take it flat out, we did clock over a 180 kmph with a professional behind the wheel, at the same point that the stock car could only manage a 160 kmph.
The interiors are stripped bare. An 8-point roll cage and racing seats with five point harness are standard. The wheels and tyres are upgraded too - running on racing slicks. Brakes are 334 mm discs in front and 232 mm discs at the rear. That’s it. No comforts, whatsoever!
And the price: Rs 40 lakhs to build one. Hey, who said motorsport came cheap?
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