The German Autobahn conjures up images of high-powered luxury cars devouring miles of asphalt at triple-digit speeds. However, the absence of restrictions on some well-known sections of the highway allows any car to reach its top speed. A new AutoTopNL video shows a tuned VW Caddy from the turn of the century doing just that.
The Caddy looks like an early 2000s model, judging by its basic interior. You won’t find flashy screens or software gimmicks here. It’s a bare-bones workhorse, but this example has a little more pop under the hood. It’s evident from the start that this VW isn’t your typical Caddy, with the driver turning the key and then moving something under the steering column to start the engine. The extra gauges on the dashboard are another indicator that this is something special.
This compact van has a 1.9 liter turbocharged diesel engine that drives the front wheels. It produces 230 horsepower (171 kilowatts) and 383 pound-feet (520 Newton-meters) of torque. According to statistics, a tuned Volkswagen can reach 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in just 6.6 seconds.
That doesn’t sound impressive by today’s standards, but it’s a significant upgrade over the stock model. The original produced just 90 hp (67 kW) and 154 lb-ft (210 Nm) of torque. The van takes 14 seconds to reach 62 mph and is limited to 102 mph (165 kph).
The video shows the VW exceeding this mark, reaching over 124 mph (200 kph), which is where the speedometer ends. It looks like the speedo stops at just over 136 mph (220 kph), but the video lists the top speed at 133 mph (215 kph). The speedometer loses some accuracy at higher speeds, and we hope that’s the case with this Caddy. He is about 20 years old.
However, even though it is old, it can still blow up the Autobahn in the left lane. Seems like it needs some help from setup, but still can. It’s not something every Caddy can do.
