Mk7 Golf R Runs World Record Sub 10-Second Quarter Mile on Stock Block
You don’t need to crack open your engine to blast into the nine-second range with a Golf R.
The once-humble Volkswagen brand is now renowned for rather bonkers performance, at least when it comes to the Golf R. It's become somewhat of a tuner favorite thanks to its powerful engine and all-paw grip. Impressively, Galano Engineering has recently pushed their Golf R build into the nine-second quarter-mile range, and on a stock block to boot.
The team was able to secure a mighty pass of 9.642 seconds at 140 mph in the quarter-mile in a recent run at Heathcote Park Raceway in Victoria, Australia. The automotive engineering house claims this as a new world record for a Mk 7 Golf R running a stock, unopened engine. The run was achieved on E85 fuel, with a stock DSG transmission and an Iroz Motorsport IMS780 turbo kit.
There's no word on the horsepower the Galano Engineering car is putting out, but it's prodigious, to be sure. Based on drag racing rules of thumb, it's likely producing somewhere from 600 to 700 horsepower at the crank. As a guide, a stock Mk 7 Golf R delivers a quarter-mile pass in 13.4 seconds with just 296 horsepower on tap.
It was a long road to get to this point. After breaking the Golf R IS38 stock turbo record in 2021 with a pass of 10.567 seconds at 127 mph, attention turned to setting a new stock block record. At that point, the record stood at 9.89 seconds at 139 mph. Frustratingly, the team could only secure a best run of 10.1 seconds at 135 mph, with the car suffering an unfortunate accident a week later that rendered it undrivable.
Years passed, with the company's Golf R steadily rebuilt, earning the nickname "Yellowbird" in the process. Upon its return to the drag strip, it was first run with a stock IS38 turbo for a shakedown. In a good omen, it blasted through a 10.560 pass at 125 mph, breaking its previous feat by a small margin. Once outfitted with its big turbo kit again, it finally managed to conquer the stock block world record.
There's something inherently appealing about engines that can take big power upgrades on stock internals. It's that capability that made the Toyota Supra and the 2JZ legends in the tuning scene. With the Golf R and the EA888 engine, it appears Volkswagen is doing similarly good work.
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