[vivekji05]

Who said that the tuning scene in India has not developed very well? With people like Pete's (Turbo India) taking performance tuning to another level, one has very little reason to complain about the lack of power in a car. Adding 10 or 15 bhp more has never been a problem with any car but how about a whole lot more? 350bhp to be precise?


(The rain god seemed angry with us for having so much fun)

Here is the recipe for an exotic cuisine namely the RS500. The kitchen is The International Hotel, Cochin. The basic ingredient is one plain Octavia 1.8 Turbo, preferably an RS. The other ingredients include

1. IHI Stage 3 Hybrid turbo.

2. Tubular equal length Exhaust manifold

3 . Milltek special edition 3" high flow cat back exhaust.

4 .Tarox 10 pot brake system front and G88 system at the rear

5 . Spec Stg 3+ clutch assembly

6 . Quaiffe ATB

7 . Special high flow Intake manifold

8 . Strenthened engine block with uprated pistons, rods, crank etc

9 . Worked Engine head.

10 . Uprated fueling system.

11 . Bilstein B16-PSS10 full adjustable suspension system

12 . H&R uprated ARB's

13 . H&R Spacers

14 . Complete Powerflex polyurethene bushes

You can also add some garnishing to your exotic cuisine like some spoilers, air scoops, bling alloys and a unique paintjob. The serving dish has to be an express highway in order to completely enjoy it.


(Neat and how. Somewhere over there rests 500bhp.)

Peter and I have been partners in many crimes like driving two 300bhp Octavias at insane speeds for a shoot out. One evening, I called him and to my surprise he asked if I would like to join him for the test drive of India’s first 500bhp Octavia, the next day. The thought itself made me lose sleep for hours. Here is an Octavia which produces more power than a Nissan GTR. Or a Porsche 911 turbo. Or a Ferrari F430.


(The much clichéd 'Wolf in sheep's clothing' aptly describes the beast.)

The next day Peter arrived with the car. From the looks of it, there is very little to suggest that this beast makes 500bhp. There is a mild diffuser at the front, two Milotec bumper grills at either sides, wheel arch trims etc. And that’s it. The exhaust was only reasonably loud. Even the colour is a mild tone of silver. I remembered, I spent at least an hour the previous night, trying to picture a black Octavia with a foot high carbon fibre spoiler and exhaust note the fury of a thunderbolt.


(The car was hugely fast on the road and I was painfully slow with the camera.)


What went way beyond my wildest imagination was the performance. The IHI turbo is a big one and takes its own sweet time to spool up. Once it does, all hell breaks loose. The car rockets off as if it had jet engines strapped on it. After some 3800rpm, the rush is insane. The scenery becomes a blur and the g forces keep you pinned to the seats. It is hard to focus on anything but the road ahead. I saw 100kmph on the speedo before I could breathe again. 120…140…160…180 ....200 kmph and there is no let up in acceleration. Performance is definitely in super-car territory. The traffic didn’t allow us to push it further but no doubt that it will do a seriously cool 270kmph.


(When I said smoking hot, I didnt mean this.)

The Bilstein B16 suspension setup ensures that the wheels are in constant contact with the road. Road grip and handling as a result are awesome. Attack a corner and the car just begs for more. However keep a check on the throttle because that kind of power flowing through the front wheels can put you in trouble. The car despite the Torque Biasing diffs, have savage torque steer which takes some getting used to. In a normal car, you overtake by pulling to the right, then pressing the accelerator pedal and finally turning left to get back to the correct lane. In this, the job is way too easier. Just press the pedal all the way down and try to hold the steering wheel straight; the car will automatically pull towards the right and then to the left, by the time you would have overtaken it and returned to the correct lane, some 150 metres away!

The RS500 can pussy foot in town without any complaints. But for its capabilities, I say, that would be torture. Where it does burst into life is on a wide road with very little traffic. At speeds, the engine note is hugely satisfying- the spooled up turbo along with the deep exhaust rumble is pure music. The BOV makes the right hissing noises as well.

This is possibly the ultimate mod for the Octavia RS. And Turbo India has done it The fact that this is an Octavia, makes it very interesting. Imagine the possibilities. You could take unsuspecting friends for the ultimate ride of their lives after the weekend party. Or you could put a crores’ worth of sportscar’s driver into one of life’s worst agonies- being overtaken by an average four door family car that costs Rs.15lakhs!

[west]

Dyno it and let us know, 500 bhp or 200bhp.
Please tell me its done by james from JBS UK. Petes just sells what that guy puts in. God no credit for the guy who put it. One more thing , how much does it cost whooping 13 lks. I better buy a 350z with that money.

Next thing we see is, front cover of autocar "bullet train mod from petes 500+ hp skoda octavia "(p.s. All matter edited and written by peter chacko)

[kutlee]

earlier the Honda. now this. this is insane. any meets (i can't be there sorry) for this??
car and the roads and the green trees. a beach shot would be better. Is this Peter's car??
wonderful clean job.

[vivekji05]

Peter did this for a customer in Mumbai. You read it right, it's 500bhp and not 200..

The car had to be shipped immediately. Time was short on our side and we couldn't take it much further for shooting and as you can see from the pictures, the weather was not the best too.

[akshay4587]

Did I read it correctly 500bhp on a Skoda RS

what are the torque?
0-100
quarter mile figures?

[mobike008]

Nice write-up and exciting to see a 500bhp Octavia on Indian roads. How much did it cost for the entire set-up? I don't see any footwear changes?

And, is all the equipment plug and play or there are serious engineering changes to be made to accomodate them?

Btw, it does need some stickering job to make it look menancing, currently, it looks too humble and it ain't right for such a power horse, is it?

[HPP]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Btw, it does need some stickering job to make it look menancing, currently, it looks too humble and it ain't right for such a power horse, is it?

Yes.


I've told my bro in law many times, right now in India, the easiest car to make power with would be any of the Skoda's with the VW 1.8T motor in it. It's a fairly strong motor with horrible tuning tools available for it.

[CaliforniaKnight]

The car looks wicked inside and outside.However 500BHP from 4 cylinders.Insanely powerful if it makes that much.

[Kinetik]

Originally Posted by west

Dyno it and let us know, 500 bhp or 200bhp.
Please tell me its done by james from JBS UK. Petes just sells what that guy puts in. God no credit for the guy who put it. One more thing , how much does it cost whooping 13 lks. I better buy a 350z with that money.

Next thing we see is, front cover of autocar "bullet train mod from petes 500+ hp skoda octavia "(p.s. All matter edited and written by peter chacko)

Hi just inquisitive why are you so skeptical about claimed power any particular reason ?

[vivekji05]

Tyres are 245/40 R17s.

Torque is 400N-m

and Peter estimates the 0-100kmph times to be around 5 seconds.

[Ford Rocam]

WOW what a cracker to start the Diwali day with. 40Kgm Torque...! must be insane. How much boost & what fuel was used.

Originally Posted by vivekji05

Peter did this for a customer in Mumbai.

interesting

Originally Posted by vivekji05

You read it right, it's 500bhp and not 200..

I think he meant by claimed v/s acheived figure, a previous 250 hp RS claimed showed 169 on Dyno.

[manson]

Comeon you ought to have atleast put this through the gtech testing!!
But hey, its headed to Bombay, and hopefully the owner will soon have a go at KS' dyno.
Vivek, comparing it to a GTR, or Porsche will just not be right,. those cars will certainly put their power down more effectively, and handle the horses a lot better too.

manson.

[abhinav.gupta88]

0-100 sub 5 seconds
400nm torque
500 bhp

This is the future of Laal Pari

Way to get Pete's !!

[Ricky_63]

WOW !! Now that is some power !!! Wonder what it feels like to "try" to drive this to it's full potential.

Scary is one word that comes to my mind !!!!

Any Dyno numbers to substantiate ??

Makes me want to exchange my deisel Octy with a Petrol - though the cost of these mods would be worth a lot. What might be the total expense on a mod like this or say a 300 BHP junior monster ??

Way to go Peter. Great job

Great start on Diwali Day !!!



Cheers

[sameel]

this is good work. but the figures .
dont think of dynoing it!!! all claims will go out of the exhaust!!