To the Ring & back – Speedhunters.com Project GTI visits the Green Hell

Cars are meant to be driven. That’s a statement everyone at Air Lift Performance agrees with, and it’s one also shared by Speedhunters.com Editor Paddy McGrath. But like a lot of good things in life, actions speak louder than words…

Paddy – and the Speedhunters.com platform – have been advocates of air suspension for many years now. It’s something we’re proud to be a part of and continually support, as the guys and girls working there don’t just hunt speed; they live it.

When they’re not busy behind the camera lens, they’re busy in the workshop building their own products with a fleet as eclectic as the team. Having previously owned a rear-wheel-drive diesel-powered BMW, the switch to a front-drive VW Golf GTI seemed like a curious choice for Paddy back in 2015, but there was no reason to ever worry – Paddy new his goals from day one and knew he’d get there no matter what it took.

‘Put simply, I wanted a car that could quite simply do it all’ Paddy explains. ‘It needed to be comfortable for daily driving, it needed to have performance for track use. But it also needed to look good at a show, without being too wild and getting unwanted attention in the process’. The answer was the VW Golf GTI – Mk6 variant to be precise – but stock was never going to cut it.

Over the next few years, Paddy upgraded every key component from its wheels and brakes through to its 2.0-litre engine which now develops a healthy 350bhp. Air Lift Performance suspension was the final piece of the puzzle for Paddy, allowing him to achieve a show-worthy stance at the press of a button without worrying and ride-height clearance, a real concern for a man who seemingly spends half of his life catching ferries.