Quickly convinced
If anyone can consider the Hockenheim Ring to be their own back yard then it is the team from Rothe Motorsport. Last year at the Tuner Grand Prix it was the performance of the Golf R20 delivered by Mike Rothe and his crew which amazed not only the spectators but also the rival firms. With a lap time of 1 minute 10.75 seconds on the compact course the R20 was quicker than a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 or a Nissan GTR and proved that Rothe Motorsport certainly knew what they were doing. This was also the opinion of Dieter W. Kaiser when he first encountered an R20. Kaiser is a qualified engineer and for over thirty years an enthusiastic club racer. With his friend, professional race driver Markus Gedlich, he has tirelessly worked out the ideal line through many race circuits. Gedlich is not only a coach for racing drivers but it is he who takes the wheel to test the cars created by Rothe Motorsport. And so one thing lead to another and Gedlich invited Kaiser in November 2010 to come to the Nordschleife to try out the Rothe Golf. Kaiser didn’t need to be asked twice. This is a man who had already had some crazy drives on the Nordschleife in a 4 litre Manthey Porsche and he quickly had an idea of how his own R20 should be. Rothe executed the build, Gedlich lent his name and the result we saw in the middle of May at Hockenheim is not just visually dramatic. We were the exclusive witnesses at the roll-out of the Rothe Golf R20 ‘Gedlich Edition’ car number 001.
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- In spite of all efforts to keep weight down the Volkswagen navigation system remains on board.
Very broad, very quick
We were greeted at the circuit by torrential rain and feared that the photography planned would have to be cancelled. But when the ‘Gedlich Edition’ was glimpsed in the specially rented pit box the unfriendly weather was instantly forgotten. The black monster Golf is unbelievably broad in the beam. An extra eight centimetres of width has been crafted by the panel beaters to such good effect that we are inclined to wonder why the car maker allows the standard Golf R to be so skinny. Of course this extravagant stance is aided by the wheels Rothe have installed. They have opted for thin OZ Alleggerita alloys. The Italian rims weigh only just nine kilos apiece in spite of their generous 10.5x18 inch format. Due to the extreme widening there is plenty of room in the wheel arches both for the track widening pieces and for the tyres selected for today’s running. These are Dunlop Direzza Cup tyres in 265 size, but 285s or even 295s could easily be accommodated. So much for the extremely muscular exterior aspect of the automobile. The interior features two Recaro sports seats and the back bench has been removed. With a roll-over cage added the ‘Gedlich Edition’ is clearly destined for the track. But it is not so minimalist as the R20 we tested before, sporting a big Volkswagen navigation system and hinting at a comfort we were later able to confirm-
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- All-wheel-drive, fat Cup rubber, Bilstein coilovers, Haldex block and the Drexler differential locking: with the R20 ‘Gedlich Edition’ there is neither oversteer nor understeer and the car’s speed in the curves in amazing.
Driving dynamics of the finest
In the meantime the weather had settled a bit and with the name-giver Markus Gedlich we headed out onto the compact circuit. The Bilstein B16 coilovers make for a much more comfortable and easy drive that with the car which impressed in the Tuner Grand Prix. Here there is a suspension which exudes confidence and allows very fast driving. If the goal has been to come up with a simple solution facilitating speed and maximum grip, then it is a goal which has been reached. In out earlier test we had only good things to say about the Haldex block and the Drexler differential locking in the Rothe Golf. And for the 'Gedlich Edition' it must be added that the neutrality in the corners easily rivals that of Porsche and the other usual suspects. Other factors making for fabulous lap times are the Movit brakes and the 2 litre turbo motorization tuned by Rothe to deliver the maximum possible push. The direct injection engine has been tweaked to the absolute limit and puts the power output of the original R20… 360 horsepower… in the shade. Here we are now dealing with 420 horsepower and 550 Newton metres of torque measured on the test bed and using 100 octane fuel. In order for the DSG transmission to handle such abundant torques the needed adjustments have been made and when the auto leaves the Rothe workshop it is an absolute bomb able to explode to a hundred kilometres an hour in 3.9 seconds and top out at 276 kilometres an hour. This immense power of this daunting R20 is available from about 3,000 RPM, when the big turbo starts to make it contribution, to an upper limit of 7,200 revs. It’s a long and awkward name… Rothe Motorsport Golf VI R20 'Gedlich Edition'… but it made short work of the circuit at Hockenheim with a 1 minute 11.5 seconds lap.A very promising result. The more so because Mike Rothe is still not entirely satisfied. “Don’t make too much of the time. There’s the capability of much more.”
Strictly limited
“Much more…” That can also be said of the price being asked for this mega-Golf. There will only be nine ‘Gedlich Edition’ cars built and a buyer should reckon on investing between 75 and 90 thousand Euros, depending on the extent of his equipment wishes. Dieter W. Kaiser, the buyer of the auto with the number ‘001’ does not seem to regret his acquisition. Unlike his Manthey Porsche, the Rothe Golf is forgiving of minor driver errors, says Kaiser with a grin. The next day he was at the start for a track day at Spa Francorchamps and was happy that his ‘Nero’ was the centre of attention for many and even happier that he could leave all of the Porsches trailing him in his wake.
