Two La Nina Winters in a row, and this one has finally caught up with it’s regularly scheduled programming and decided to leave us with a light dusting of snow over these last couple of days. More is expected tonight and possibly for the next few days so there is no doubt Seattle Snopocalypse 2012 is upon us! We’ve had an oddly long run of dry and mild weather this Winter so for many, the snow is welcome! For others, not so much. Way too many improperly equipped vehicles on the roadway! It’s only going to be around for about a week before temperatures go back up again and the rain washes it all away, but for now we’ll take in as much as we can. An entire day was spent enjoying the snow falling from indoors next to a warm fire with cocoa and peppermint, venturing outside only to snap a few pictures like the one seen here on the right. The sun had just set behind the incoming storm clouds, throwing a purple hue across the sky that reflected on every snow covered surface… a gorgeous yet eerie sight, a sign of things to come.
Two storms will collide overhead in the next 24-hours, the Puget Sound Convergence Zone, and they say we’re getting 6-8″ more snow in our area. If “Wash-Dot” (WSDOT – Washington State Department of Transportation) keeps up with its current pace and stays ahead of the game, we should all be in decent shape. Our snow-shoe equipped front-wheel drive Volkswagens are getting us around without issue, but a certain new Volkswagen model that just made its debut here in North America has finally arrived here on the West Coast, and seriously changes the game when deciding (ok, just hoping for now) what to add to the Spina² stable. Talk about the perfect compact car to handle such conditions! The first example delivered to a customer not employed by Volkswagen is none other than local German car tuning shop Achtuning (Dion’s employer), giving us an up-close and personal view of America’s new, German-made hot hatch! Our favorite from Volkswagen’s color palette – Candy White, 4-doors, all-wheel drive, and a K04 turbocharged 2.0L direct-injected inline 4-cylinder starting with 256hp/279tq, but capable of 400hp/370tq (with APR Stage 3 kit) driven by a manual transmission… Other than a sunroof this fine example couldn’t be further than perfection in our eyes, minus a few personal tweaks of course!
Wasting no time, Achtuning has already upgraded the suspension with H&R’s Premium Coil-Overs, front & rear sway bars, and StopTech’s Sport Brake kit which replaces the factory rotors, pads, and lines with upgraded units – All in the name of performance enhancement to better improve the Golf R’s capabilities and represent the German car performance tuning shop’s capabilities. Big plans are in the works for Achtuning’s Golf R project, and since we get to be right front and center during it’s quick evolution, stay tuned for progress here or follow along on the Achtuning website.
