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The limited edition 2001-2003 VW Beetle RSi 3.2i VR6 may soon become one of the most rare, VW - branded Sportcars ever made, as only 250 were built.
While its overall performance and handling were a step above the regular Beetle 1.8 Turbo 4 cyl. of the era (a close relative to the GOLF 4 GTI), its standard exhaust was far from being the perfect system for the VR6 engine, as it proved to be restrictive, overweight, nice-sounding but still too quiet.
We at Supersprint took the opportunity of making it better, using the experience we made on the GOLF R32, which we had just designed and developed a totally new exhaust for, built from the ground up.
Instead of settling on the cat-back part of the exhaust only, for pure cosmetics, and more noise, we focused on the most restrictive, power-robbing areas of the exhaust system, the manifolds and the catalytic.
Making more peak Hp, but most important, more torque in the midrange; now that was our goal.
We have changed everything within the layout of the stock exhaust, from all the way up on the engine head. We designed longer primaries, stainless steel tubular headers, with specific flanges to match the exhaust ports, complemented by HJS Motorsport, twin metallic cats, and, free-flowing rear muffler + mid resonater.
Tested back-to-back against the stock system, this new Supersprint full exhaust made huge gains, from the low rpm range to redline, also guaranteeing a throaty, drone-free, powerful sound.
The results were astounding, as the maximum increase was + 20 Hp, + 30 Nm torque, made throughout specific, wide areas of the powerband.
Technically speaking, the most interesting feature of our approach was, not going overboard with piping size, as our in-house dyno testing, done with exhaust gas backpressure monitoring, made it clear that this particular VR6 powerplant (in its stock form) performs to its best potential with firm, 65mm tubing.
Equally important, we carefully routed the pipes well within the tight confines of the 4-Motion drivetrain, always ensuring a proper clearance. The final fitment of this Supersprint exhaust proved nothing less than perfect.
Later on, we also introduced a larger size, 70mm specific exhaust, recommended for more radical, racetrack tunes and supercharging conversions only.
Fastforward to 2018, these fine Supersprint exhausts for the Beetle R32 are still available, in their original form.