2000 Volkswagen Jetta VR6 - A Healthy Obsession

by CAE, Oct 29, 2009

With the ride finished and multiple Best of Shows won (let's count: NHRA in Denver, CO; HIN in Dallas, TX; NOPI in Atlanta, GA; NHRA in Pomona, CA), Gandara proves that girls can win Best ofs. She's not about to sit back and relax, though. There are always more shows, more coverage to get and perhaps another car to build. Considering this Jetta, she shouldn't have any trouble getting sponsors.

Driver Profile

Co-owner of a pair of restaurants along with boyfriend Noe Sanchez, Sandra Gandara has certainly gone all the way since entering the car scene three years ago. Her Jetta has no manufacturer sponsors-the $120,000 it took to build it came entirely out of pocket. Now that's obsession. The cosseted ride is only driven on and off the trailer at shows. Though she doesn't take up two spaces in a parking lot, she does require two spaces at a show to have enough room for the inevitable crowd. At shows, Gandara says she and Sanchez "listen to Spanish music and watch movies back to back while we wait on trophies." Special thanks go to Jotech Motorsports, Kindig-it Design, JS Custom Interiors, VF-Engineering, Papa Poblano's Mexican Cafs "and to all our family and workers who support us and work hard while we are out showing off our baby."

Tech

Wheels: HRE 542R 19x11 front, 19x13 rear

Installing that 30-inch monster required custom housing and brackets. Stainless steel and aircraft flush-mount rivets give it some flair, as if it needed it, and custom latches secure it when closed. In the gullwing doors, the 10.4-inch Directed Electronics monitors also required precision. Custom braces and brackets had to be fabricated for the perfect placement for outside viewers. The last extra monitor, a 12-incher in the trunk, motorizes up from a shallow swathe of black-painted fiberglass.

Tires: Pirelli Pzero 305/25/19 ZR front, 355/25/19 ZR rear

Suspension: fully chromed Bilstein shocks and springs, Neuspeed sway bars and springs

Brakes: Brembo 13.5" chromed front brakes, Bahn Brenner 11.5" rear brakes, polished calipers, and Neuspeed stainless braided brake lines

Engine by VF-Engineering: MK4 VR6 12v, VF-Engineering Stage 3 Supercharger, 3" polished high-flow intercooler, Neuspeed carbon-fiber engine cover, Neuspeed spark plug wires, Neuspeed short shifter and Neuspeed chromed engine caps

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Kindig-it Design

Salt Lake City, UT