CarWale
    AD

    CarWale Track Day 2019: Volkswagen Vento race car

    Authors Image

    CarWale Team

    55,337 Views

    Introduction

    The Volkswagen Vento doesn’t need an introduction but the car you see on these pages does, because it is anything but a normal family sedan. Christened the Gentleman’s race car, this track specific Vento has a single seat and gets the 1.8-litre direct injection turbo petrol engine from the Ameo Cup car that makes 240bhp. Those horses are put through a race spec sequential 6-speed transmission, which can be controlled via the steering mounted paddles. Then there is the suspension which is extremely stiff and runs on 2-way adjustable KW dampers and Eibach springs. Braking is via an all-round disc setup. Although running on steel discs, the Galfer brakes proved to be fade-free with a positive pedal feedback. The dash of the Vento remains, but everything else has been stripped off. There is just a driver seat that is really a racing bucket and besides that, a rollcage and six point harness for safety. Then there are those slick tyres which are sticky, durable and get the best out of this potent package. All this has resulted in a race car that is a huge amount of fun and capable of posting laptimes that can give even the mighty AMGs nightmares.

    0-100-0kmph

     
    The Vento Track Day car was never meant for outright straight-line performance but with 240bhp on tap and just 1.2-tonnes of weight to haul around, we expected the Vento to do well in this test. It did prove to be fast but it could have gone even quicker with a fresher set of slick tyres. Nevertheless, it set a time of 9.2 seconds in the 0-100-0kmph test. Thanks to the aggressive launch control and race spec sequential transmission, the Vento Race car reached 100kmph in a scant 6.41 seconds. The use of not-so-new tyres reflected in its braking performance. Despite having race ABS, this track car came to a halt in 39.22 metres, longer than the family friendly Civic and the Octavia.

    Lap Time

    The Vento Race car set a lap time of 1m58.30s which, by any yardstick and especially around the tight and technical MMRT race track, is fast. To put things into perspective, it went 20 seconds faster than the Polo TSi which we tested last year which is a lifetime in terms of lap time. Thanks to innumerable modifications this car is a proper track weapon. It registered higher corner speeds in nearly all the corners and it is physical too, as it pulled more than one G through every bend.

    Conclusion

    Having driven the Ameo Cup extensively, I was expecting the Vento Race Car to be fast yet easy to get to the limit, but I was so wrong. Where the Ameo Cup car has a hunkered down rear end, the Vento is extremely tail happy and if you are not careful, it can bite you real hard. This was even more apparent on cold tyres where the Vento snapped on me in the quick change of direction between C4 and C5 at MMST. On the hot lap with the tyres up to proper running temperature, the rear of the car felt more stable but in the left kink exiting C7 which generally is flat out, the Vento race car almost gave me a heart attack as the rear stepped out at almost 150kmph. Thanks to the 240bhp and front wheel drive layout, I was able to bring it back under control.


    Where the Ameo Cup car is for novice drivers, the Vento race car isn’t for the faint hearted. It is fast, agile and if not treated right, it will spit you out. This car is yet another stellar creation by the people at Volkswagen Motorsport India.

    Ameya Dandekar

    Featured Cars

    • Popular
    • JUST LAUNCHED
    • Upcoming
    Maruti Suzuki Fronx
    Maruti Fronx
    Rs. 7.51 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Mahindra Scorpio N
    Mahindra Scorpio N
    Rs. 13.60 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Tata Nexon
    Tata Nexon
    Rs. 8.15 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Mahindra Scorpio
    Mahindra Scorpio
    Rs. 13.59 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara
    Maruti Grand Vitara
    Rs. 10.76 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Hyundai Creta
    Hyundai Creta
    Rs. 11.00 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Mahindra Thar
    Mahindra Thar
    Rs. 11.25 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Tata Punch
    Tata Punch
    Rs. 6.13 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Lexus LM
    Lexus LM
    Rs. 2.00 Croreonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    JUST LAUNCHED
    15th MAR
    Hyundai Creta N Line
    Hyundai Creta N Line
    Rs. 16.82 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    JUST LAUNCHED
    11th MAR
    BYD Seal
    BYD Seal
    Rs. 41.00 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Mercedes-Benz AMG GLE Coupe
    Mercedes-Benz AMG GLE Coupe
    Rs. 1.85 Croreonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Mercedes-Benz GLA
    Mercedes-Benz GLA
    Rs. 50.50 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Porsche Macan Turbo EV
    Porsche Macan Turbo EV
    Rs. 1.65 Croreonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Rolls-Royce Spectre
    Rolls-Royce Spectre
    Rs. 7.50 Croreonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Tata Punch EV
    Tata Punch EV
    Rs. 10.99 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Mahindra XUV300 facelift
    Mahindra XUV300 facelift

    Rs. 9.00 - 15.00 LakhEstimated Price

    Mar 2024 (Tentative)Expected Launch

    Get Launch Alert on WhatsApp

    Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor
    Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor

    Rs. 12.00 - 16.00 LakhEstimated Price

    3rd Apr 2024Unveil Date

    Get Launch Alert on WhatsApp

    Maruti Suzuki New-gen Swift
    Maruti New-gen Swift

    Rs. 6.50 - 10.00 LakhEstimated Price

    Apr 2024 (Tentative)Expected Launch

    Get Launch Alert on WhatsApp

    MG Gloster facelift
    MG Gloster facelift

    Rs. 40.00 - 45.00 LakhEstimated Price

    Apr 2024 (Tentative)Expected Launch

    Get Launch Alert on WhatsApp

    Force Motors Five-door Gurkha
    Force Motors Five-door Gurkha

    Rs. 15.50 - 16.00 LakhEstimated Price

    May 2024 (Tentative)Expected Launch

    Get Launch Alert on WhatsApp

    Nissan Qashqai
    Nissan Qashqai

    Rs. 25.00 - 30.00 LakhEstimated Price

    May 2024 (Tentative)Expected Launch

    Get Launch Alert on WhatsApp

    Volkswagen ID.4
    Volkswagen ID.4

    Rs. 50.00 - 60.00 LakhEstimated Price

    May 2024 (Tentative)Expected Launch

    Get Launch Alert on WhatsApp

    Skoda Superb
    Skoda Superb

    Rs. 28.00 - 35.00 LakhEstimated Price

    Jun 2024 (Tentative)Expected Launch

    Get Launch Alert on WhatsApp

    AD
    • volkswagen-cars
    • other brands
    Volkswagen Virtus
    Volkswagen Virtus
    Rs. 11.56 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Volkswagen Taigun
    Volkswagen Taigun
    Rs. 11.70 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city
    Volkswagen Tiguan
    Volkswagen Tiguan
    Rs. 35.17 Lakhonwards
    Avg. Ex-Showroom price
    Show price in my city