Edging it up

摘要

In the face of stiff competition, Forge Motorsport's IPRO upgrade for the new GTI restores the status quo... AT ITS LAUNCH, few would have considered the Mk 5 GTI inadequate in any way. After the damage to the reputation of the GTI wrought by the lame Mk 3 GTI 8V and the lacklustre Mk 4 GTI 1.8T, Volkswagen really pulled out all the stops when it designed the Mk 5. Here at last was a hot hatch which produced not only the necessary performance, but also had a dynamic chassis and suspension set-up to make full use of it. But no sooner had the Mk 5 GTI established itself as the new benchmark than rivals like Renault and Vauxhall were snapping at its heels. Machinery like the Megane Cup (222 bhp) and Astra VXR (237 bhp) offer a serious challenge, and there'll soon be a Ford Focus ST with 222 bhp to deal with. Perhaps 200 PS wasn't quite enough, after all, to keep the opposition at bay.