The power of the eyes always seems to amaze me. It’s strange how our brains compute what our eyes see. 99 Percent of the time, it’s spot on. But sometimes, despite our brain’s best efforts to make sense of something, it just isn’t true. What happens when our eyes deceive us?

Take Junaid Ally for instance. He’s your regular bloke – a student – with a smart new Polo GTi. The car in it’s fiery red paint job looks great, but you would be forgiven for thinking this is your regular, run-off-the-mill Polo GTi. You walk around the car for a good few minutes, trying to fathom the hype around this car. Trying to maybe sneak of peek as to why this is hailed as the fastest Polo GTi on the East Coast. Your eyes focussing on all the regular spots that normally are a dead giveaway for a modified car – but your eyes are telling you a completely different story. Your brain is telling you that this rather standard looking GTi is the real deal – a genuine ‘Street Sleeper’ – true to its Durban roots, but your eyes are convinced there is nothing special about this car, bar for the factory fitted turbocharged engine. But things are definitely not what it seems.

Junaid graduated to his GTi, just ten months ago, after being a very satisfied Citi Life driver. It was an obvious evolution, but Junaid all the while had a zerious plan of action. After watching his brother Ridwaan race the Durban streets for many years, Junaid decided it was now his time to shine. The standard Polo is more than a very competent car. Independent suspension, all the bells and whistles, and at the front – one of VW’s most advanced engines ever – 110kw and 220nm of refined boost thanks to its 20 valve 1800 powerplant. This engine has, over the last few years, earned a reputation for not only being bulletproof, but has now established itself as the new benchmark – the most desired VW engine for tuning the world over.

The responsiveness of the 1800 20V Turbo engine to tuning is no coincidence. It took years of testing and research and development from VW’s top engineers before the engine found its home in the Golf IV GTi and its sibling, the Audi A3 1.8T. As in the Polo GTi, it is mated to a slick 5 speed box that translates to stellar performance. A top speed of over 215 km/h, 0-100  in around 8 seconds and a quarter mile in mid 15s, the Polo was a good car but it wasn’t as fast as everyone had initially hoped. But Junaid had a vision, and so the story continues…

You see, Junaid had already done his homework on how he was going to make his GTi that much special. He engaged the services of arguably the most renowned performance exhaust manufacturers in Durban – Roadmaster, to build him a complete custom exhaust that would replace the restrictive standard unit. The factory catalytic converter and well as the “choking” downpipe was thrown out, and a new 76mm mandrel bend exhaust system was fitted. A matching downpipe was also installed, so that those nasty gases that hamper performance are expelled from the engine as quickly as possible. With the car feeling more responsive, it was now time for the next chapter.

When chip tuning legends, Upsolute Racing got hold of the GTi, Junaid gave them just one request – “more power”.  Having been optimizing boosted cars for years, Upsolute knew exactly how to extract every last drop of reliable horsepower out of the devilish brute. In the interests of raw power, Upsolute fitted a stage 4 version of their already insane software transforming kilowatts to killerwatts and torque to tyre-shredding mayhem. The fuel pressure was also up-rated, and a set of imported plugs were installed to ensure optimal spark. The standard K03 Turbocharger was retained for now, however an upgrade is on the cards in the future. An induction kit was also fitted giving the GTi a menacing snarl with every blip of the loud pedal. Bringing the Polo 35mm lower to the ground, and lowering the vehicle’s centre of gravity in the process, was a set of Eibach springs, that work in conjunction with the Polo’s independent suspension to make sure it sticks fast in the twisties – no matter what speed it’s doing!

VW Guru, Jeeva of Ken’s One Stop in Tongaat, then suggested a front mount intercooler and a Snow Performance aquamist cooler which he duly fitted to the GTi. With the boost now cooled, it was time to test out the beast. Her thirst was quenched with some 102.6 octane race fuel before she was strapped onto the dyno. As the boost level rose towards 1.5 bar, and the revs nearing redline in a blink of the eye in each gear, the power reached was a stratospheric 202kw at the hubs! 

Although Junaid’s GTi has yet to be tested in an official drag event, it has handed out its fair share of ass whippings. With everything from RunX RSi’s to modified M3′s, this understated GTi has run them all – and beat them all. With a quarter mile time estimated to be a 13 flat – it puts this little boosted GTi in a very elite class. Studying certainly pays dividends, it’s clearly evident that Junaid did his homework in getting his Polo to be a winner. When quizzed about future cars, he does confess a likeness for the Nissan 350Z and the twin-turbo BMW 335i. One can only imagine what he’ll do then!

Looks can be very deceiving. What your eyes see is not necessarily true, as seen with Junaid’s ‘Street Sleeper’. Things are definitely not always what they seem, so next time you line up at the traffic lights with a red Polo GTi, think twice, because it could be this fire-breathing 200-plus killerwatt powerhouse next to you.

FAST FACTS – VW POLO GTI

Owner: Junaid Ally

Hometown: Isipingo, KZN

Power: 202 kw At The Wheels at 1.5 Bar

Under the Hood: 1800 20V Turbocharged, K03 Turbocharger, 5 Valves Per Cylinder, 4 Cylinder, Front Mount Intercooler, Simota Cold Air Induction, Upped Fuel Pressure, High Performance Imported Plugs, 76mm Mandrel Bent Custom Roadmaster Exhaust, Roadmaster Custom Downpipe, Snow Performance Aquamist Boost Cooler, Upsolute Racing Stage 4 Software, 5 Speed Gearbox

Stiff Stuff: Eibach 35mm Lowering Springs

Stoppers: Ventilated Discs, ABS

Rollers: GTi 16″ Wheels

Inside: Leather Recaro Seats, Boost Gauge

Outside: Matte Black Bonnet, Sunroof, Colour Coded Sidesills, Colour Coded Rear Diffuser