Forge Project Cars – The Mk1 VW Golf GTI Berg Cup

Another month, another look back at the greatest projects in Forge's history, and this time it's the turn of the frankly epic Forge Motorsport Berg Cup VW Golf Mk1

The Germans, as you might have noticed, don’t do things by halves, and this has never been truer then when in reference to their hillclimbs. Hillclimbing has a long and rich history in the UK of course, but the Germans have taken the sport several stages further, and the jewel in the European hillclimb crown is undoubtedly The Berg Cup, a celebration of all things bonkers and stupidly powerful.

Why are we starting off by discussing a European hillclimb championship? Because the Berg Cup led directly to the car you see here, one of the best known of all Forge Motorsport projects, the Berg Cup Mk1 Golf. Almost comically aggressive, brutally powerful and something of an icon of the tuned car scene, the Forge Golf remains a hugely important car a full 4 years on from its debut, a fitting showcase of its technical ability and massively diverse range.

The project which would eventually become the Forge Golf began to take shape in 2012 when the team began the hunt for a suitable project car, eventually chancing upon an utterly standard, fairly unremarkable Mk1 Golf GTI from 1981. Like most VWs from this era the car in question has lived a hard life and had begun to show more than a few signs of rust, a far from ideal trait of a car which would eventually be entrusted with the best part of 400bhp, hence why the project began with a comprehensive restoration programme. This saw all traces of rot brutally and unflinchingly chopped out, fresh steel welded in its place (plus a carbon fibre roof) and the whole shell treated to a chemical dipping session. This effectively gave Forge’s team a solid foundation from which to work from, something they capitalised on by designing and building a custom, weld-in roll cage out of T45 steel.

Basic structure secured, the team moved onto the Golf’s power plant, eventually opting for the tried and tested 1.8T 20v. Many of you will be well aware of this engine’s tuning potential and the role it’s played in the fettled VW scene, and it’s a power plant that Forge know a great deal about and which it produces a large number of parts for. The one in the Mk1 Golf was treated to a slew of high end upgrades, namely a bored block with lightened, balanced and forged internals, a Garrett GTX2860 turbo and associated hardware, including a Forge intercooler, radiator, Blow Off Valve, and much else besides. It constitutes a massive upgrade in terms of visual appearance and power, a whisker under 400bhp, all routed through the front wheels via a Wavetrac LSD and Sachs clutch.

Everyone associated with the project was keen for it to be able to handle all that power, and also to be a fitting tribute to the Berg Cup cars from which it drew inspiration. In other words, it had to handle and handle well, hence why you’ll now find so much advanced chassis hardware on this over-square Golf. The OE-installed uprights were junked in favour of KW’s Berg Cup coilovers, uprated polyurethane bushes, Eibach anti-roll bars, Forge engine braces, and vastly more capable brakes – 280mm front discs with mammoth six-pot Forge calipers.

It would be wrong of us to discuss this car without also throwing the spotlight on its most distinguishing feature, that aero-sculpted bodykit. Far from a random assortment of right angles, ramps and wings intended merely to look aggressive, the kit actually functions as a complete package, underlining this Golf’s true, track-honed potential and providing much needed downforce when driving at speed. The full list of body parts includes Forge Motorsport side skirts, rear wing and front bumper, HR Engineering fiberglass arches, tailgate and doors, and Fibre-Lyte carbonfibre front and rear wing extrusions, all picked out by the appropriately retro take on Forge’s iconic livery.

Once again it’s worth pointing out that this project is now very nearly half a decade old, and yet it’s still a firm fan favourite and still more than capable of drawing a crowd. There are many reasons for this of course, but we think one of the most important is the sheer impact this Golf has, particularly when it’s driven on the road – most folk simply don’t expect to encounter such an outwardly aggressive, deeply uncompromising on their daily commute! It is without doubt one of the greatest Forge projects of all.