Volkswagen Vento Cup
Driving the fire breathing Race Vento on the track was a thrilling experience
Quite often we visit the Buddh International Circuit for launch events and to drive exotic performance cars. However, this time around I got a chance to test the limits of the Volkswagen Vento Cup machines. And let me tell you, it was more adrenaline pumping and fun than some of those exotic machines. I couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel as soon as I got there. The smell of fuel, the loud free flow exhausts and the low slung Race Vento cars with Motorsport livery were quite inviting for a petrolhead like me.
The stripped out cabin is driver focused having performance parts only
The Race Vento gets specially designed race seats with 6-point safety harness. The seat is usually custom made for drivers and it was a task for me to fit in with the roll cage hampering the ingress. The interiors are totally stripped down, it only gets the race seats, roll cage, dashboard, race spec steering wheel and the AIM data system on the instrument cluster to measure the performance and record the race data. After sitting snug and buckling up the 6-point harness, I was ready to hit the track.
The low slung Race Vento is heavily modified to extract maximum performance on the track
The turbo + supercharged 1.4 TSI engine oozes out crazy horsepower
Before getting into the experience, let us go through the tech specs of this race spec Vento. It is powered by a 1.4-litre turbocharged + supercharged TSI petrol engine that produces an insane 180 PS of power at 6200 RPM along with 250 Nm of torque at 2000-4500 RPM. This engine is mated to a 6-speed automatic wet dual clutch transmission with steering mounted paddle shifts. The Race Vento is equipped with a free flow exhaust that improves the performance and sounds epic too!
The throttle response is staggering and the redline comes within no time
While exiting the pit lane at 60 km/hr limit, my heart was pumping in excitement to see what happens next. Lights go green, I hit the track, pin the throttle hard and take the first corner. The rapid and cutting edge nature of the Race Vento was immediately noticeable. The throttle response is sharp and the strong acceleration is very satisfying. The healthy torque comes at low RPM which provides immense grunt making the mid-range very strong while the oodles of power made by the turbo and supercharger combined offers terrific performance throughout the rev band.
Go flat out and the Race Vento literally pushes you into the seat
The free flow exhaust system is a treat to every petrolhead’s ears
The DSG gearbox is super quick giving instant downshifts and upshifts with a click of the paddle shifts. Before entering the back straight, downshift a couple of gears and the kickback sound from the free flow exhaust is amazing. Coming to the straight I went full out with the throttle, the RPM needle spins like crazy hitting the 7000 RPM limiter in a blink. The screaming note of the engine and exhaust is very satisfying and it is loud even inside the cabin, further pumping your adrenaline along with the mental acceleration. Towards the end of the straight I managed to hit the 190 km/hr top speed of the Race Vento.
You can really feel the G forces while hitting the corners hard
Hard on the brakes at the end of the back straight and it just blows your mind the way it sheds speed. It is equipped with 334 mm self-ventilated discs at the front and 232 mm discs at the rear with uprated calipers. That along with the slicks make the brakes super effective and you can brake very late before entering a corner. While taking the corner hard, the slick tyres provided excellent grip and the performance focussed suspension setup offers fantastic handling.
The suspension setup is totally track focussed including the slick tyres and the brakes
The suspension setup includes McPherson Struts at the front and Torsion Beam axle at the rear, both come with Bump & Rebound Adjustable Sachs Dampers and Modified Kinematics. This setup simply changes the dynamics of the Vento altogether. There is a limited slip differential too and VW has managed to shed a lot of weight, the Race Vento weighs 1225 kgs while the regular 1.2 TSI Vento weighs 1720 kgs. So there is literally no body roll while cornering and the car feels very nimble and light, making it super fun on the track.
The Volkswagen Motorsport comes with three categories – Junior, Pro and Master
Getting the taste of Motorsport from behind the wheel is quite a rare experience. Driving the Race Vento on the BIC made me realise the great potential this German sedan has on offer. After having driven the road going Vento multiple times, the extreme performance oriented character of the race specced machine took my breath away. If you really have the moolah and are passionate enough to make your career in the world of Motorsport, this can be a big stepping stone for you. Volkswagen has come up with Ameo Cup now and you can register in three categories – Junior, Pro and Master. The participation fee for the current seasons starts at Rs. 8.50 lakhs. And yes, you need to be really fit having a strong stamina to be able to fit in those race seats and drive around the track for multiple hours relentlessly.
VW had a red hot Polo GTI too on the track as a safety car