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Golfs

Cross the border into Austria from Germany in the right place and you're only a short drive from Langenfeld. The town's claim to fame is its location in the same valley as the so-called Iceman or Frozen Fritz This five thousand and seven hundred year-old warrior (rumours he bears a remarkable resemblance to the Editor are unfounded) was found encased in ice in the Oetz valley. But you don't really want to know about that.

You'd rather hear about the life and times of Manfred Santer. Working in his domestic garage, Manfred constructed a styling kit for his trusty Opel Kadett. It was made up of no fewer than 15 pieces and may have faded into obscurity, except that his friends liked it and wanted one. So Manfred made more. And more. And then set up MS Design so that he could make even more of the things.

By 1987 Manfred had switched from using messy glass fibre to PU-RIM for his body parts. And his range had moved beyond Opels. Indeed, MS Design was now an international company.

Today MS Design (Exklusives Autozubehbr) Auto Tuning GmbH has 110 employees and distributors throughout the world - including Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, France, America, Japan and England (LS Design).

The company's 200-page catalogue lists styling options for most European and Japanese cars - from Alfa to Volkswagen via Hyundai and Porsche. There's also a range of MS Design wheels, rear silencers and tailpipes, lowering springs, gear knobs and steering wheels. Many parts are supplied direct to car makers and are either listed in their accessory catalogues or used to create special edition models.

But it's the LS Design connection that we'll now focus on. Under a different name, this Colchester-based company has been styling Mercs and doing interior retrims for many years. It's part of the Lancaster Group of car dealerships and has its own Ferrari approved bodyshop. Company principal, Duncan Smith, met the people from MS Design at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1996. The Austrians were looking for a UK importer, Duncan was seeking to expand his range of styling options. In no time a deal was forged, hands were shaken and thighs were slapped (when in Rome...). Oh, and a bottle or three of MS Design schnapps were collectively consumed with great enthusiasm. Back in England, LS Design was formed and now offered a huge range of styling options to UK dealers and punters. Including for the new Polo, Golf 2 and 3 models, the Vento and the new Passat. Besides product range, the company has another advantage thanks to its Austrian connection -the availability of new models.

While we sit around in Britain looking at nothing but photographs of the Golf 4, lucky European mainlanders have bought them, styled them and are driving them around. Which is why MS Design could display a styled Golf 4 at the Essen Motor Show in Germany way back in November 1997. This Golf 4.

Anxious to steal a march on his competitors and to 'be on the streets' ahead of Volkswagen's own styling options, Duncan Smith arranged for the MS Design Golf 4 to be brought to the UK for a tour of dealers. The plan was for the car to be collected from Munich airport and driven across the Channel late at night, the idea being to keep it sort of under wraps until the bits were properly on sale. That was handy, allowing us a morning rendezvous with LS Design's bleary-eyed Colin Broadhurst at the company's Severalls Industrial Estate premises in Colchester, Essex. You'll be reading plenty about tuned and styled Mk4s in The Golf in the coming months, but this was a good opportunity for us to bag one of the very first that had made the trip across to the UK. Pausing only to allow LS Design to valet the car, give us some trade plates, arrange the insurance and help us with the car-to-car action photographs, we grabbed the Golf and drove off to explore the docks for some suitable photo locations.

But what exactly had we borrowed? This was a lowly 1.6-litre five-door Golf. A consequence of MS Design being an early purchaser of new models is that it often gets little choice of specification (or colour). No matter, the parts will fit all Golf models -although there are some variations, depending on the powerplant.

Actually, the 16OOcc, 16v 75bhp engine was quite lively (despite being in standard form) and steering feel was good. Surprisingly, the ride was also good - firm but not choppy. My mild amazement was borne of experience with some cars tuned for the German market - the ride can be too stiff for UK roads. Not so, MS Design's combination of lowering springs (3Omm reduction in ride height) and 7.Sxl7in twinspoke wheels fitted with Dunlop SP Sport 8000 215/45 tyres. Six-spoke wheels are also available.

The levels of grip are considerably raised compared to the standard car - without off-putting side effects such as tramlining. Perhaps, MS Design's decision to restrict maximum wheel diameter to 17 inches rather than opt for more stunning looking 1 8in versions -with consequently lower profile tyres - is a wise one in

the context of the roadholding/ride compromise. Another aspect of the comfortable ride may be the Recaro seats fitted at the front only but trimmed in the same material as the rest of the interior. I'm not usually a fan of these sports seats but those in this Golf felt both supportive and comfortable. Certainly they add distinction to the car's interior.

The only other mods are a shiny gear knob and plastic mats called lnterfloors. The latter are not available for right-hand drive cars, unfortunately. Actually, they're more of a show item anyway - retain them for driving and your feet tend to slide around, which can be a bit disconcerting.

Moving to the outside, this Golf has it all. Too much, maybe but that's a consequence of it being a car for show. But each part can be purchased separately so you can choose the options that suit.

Starting at the front, there's a curvy below-bumper front spoiler, which cleverly incorporates the lip supports that are in favour now. Above this is MS Design's own replacement grille, which accepts the standard VW badge. Perhaps most distinctive are the headlight covers which emphasise the four lenses in each unit. If you're concerned about loss of light, don't be. All MS Design's parts have TOV approval (think of this as the German version of an MoT, only stricter) and for the light covers the company had to satisfy the legislators that safety was not compromised. Finally, there's a small grille for the bonnet - a non-functional item that's a bit of fun and can be positioned

I almost anywhere you like. At the sides of the Golf there are, er, side skirts with raised pieces behind and ahead of the front and rear wheels respectively. As with the front and rear spoilers, the side skirts can be painted to match your Golf's body colour if you prefer. At the rear, MS Design's Golf has a roof-level wing. With profiled end pieces it is arguably more distinctive than the plain versions offered by some other styling companies. You can have it with the clear lens brake light as shown here or without.

A rear spoiler (more of a skirt, really) is fitted below the bumper and is shaped to match the front spoiler. It has cut-outs for the company's twin-tailpipe rear silencer – available with a choice of straight or upturned (DTM) outlets. The final styling item is a neat cover for the fuel cap - pricey at £66 plus VAT but possibly justified after close inspection, as it's more complicated than it first appears.

As you can tell from the graphics, this styling program goes by the name Raceline - or enilecaR if you read the offside of the car. Duncan Smith let slip that there's another styling program for the Golf 4 about to be released. Dubbed The Styling Program With No Name, it includes similar parts to the Raceline kit but is more subtle. We'll report on that in due course.

For more details - Order "The Golf" Issue July 1998

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