A sub-700 kilogram Mk1? Hot take: the welded in multi-point cage isn’t making this look easy, and the panels don’t look like wafer-thin fibreglass. Good luck with that.
Usually very early bodyshells lend themselves to the featherweight game - or savagely gutted ones - or someone talking the talk! But not this one, as it turns out.
Netherlands-based Frank Wolkers was serious from the very start. In September 2008 an unsuspecting - and complete - Inari Silver small light 1980, believed rust-free 1272cc three-door runner went on the weigh bridge at 770kg, and then straight into disassembly. Call the cage + 50 kg. The challenge then was to net throw out 120+ kgs out to hit the target. Could be interesting. Let’s do the ‘math’…
Influenced by a friend with a lowered Mk1 and himself later owning two Mk1 Golfs and a nice Mk1 Jetta coupe (sold to finance this project), Frank caught the motorsport bug at an early stage - “mid 90’s BTCC was the pinnacle” - and knew exactly where his latest project was going: “The idea was to restore the car and rebuild it to a street-legal track-car and make it as light as possible. This weight calorie counter project took 11 years to complete, but was it worth the weight (stop it! – Ed)?
An engineer by training, Frank’s game plan was part Berg Cup inspired (small block engine) and part understated ‘90s BTCC (body): Why a small block? “I was inspired by the Mk1 Golfs and Polos from the Bergrennen in Germany. Very light and nimble, with screaming normally aspirated 1400cc or 1600cc engines. I would love to see that work on a real circuit, especially with the underdog concept behind
