GTI VR6 Wiki
This Website is for owners, and afficionados, of Volkswagen's GTI VR6. The GTI VR6 was a revolution in the so-called "hot hatch" marketspace with the introduction of a relatively small, and nimble, hatchback that housed a compact, yet powerful, narrow-angle V6 engine.
The name VR6 is derived from a combination of Vee for the cylinder configuration and Reihenmotor, which translated from German means inline motor - giving us Vee Reihenmotor Six, or Inline Vee Six.
With a unique 15° angle between the cylinder banks, rather than the traditional 60° or 90°, this allowed for a 2.8 litre engine to be used in a small engine bay, such as those previously reserved for 4-cylinder engines.
Owing to the unsurprising success of a big engine in a small car, the GTI VR6 developed quite a cult following, and the following pages contain the distilled knowledge that has accumulated over the years.
In other markets, the GTI VR6 also goes under the Golf moniker, and the VR6 engine itself has also found a home in other vehicles under the VAG umbrella.
The MkIII platform was the first Golf/Jetta to use the VR6 powerplant, which debuted in a 12V version. The engine was initially marketed as a DOHC engine, however this is a point of contention due to the unique design. Yes, there are two overhead cam shafts, however there is only one cam shaft over each bank of cylinders. The next generation of the VR6 engine, used in the MkIV platform was a true double overhead cam engine, with one camshaft controlling the inlet valves and the other controlling the exhaust valves, while still using two cam shafts over the one cylinder head. The 24V engine also features other technical improvements, such as variable valve timing and a variable geometry inlet manifold, that enables it to extract another 22kW from the same displacement.
Unless specified otherwise, on the following pages, assume any information is specific to the MkIII VR6 - manufactured between 1993 and early 1999 inclusive.
- Essential Information
- Body/Appearance - Exterior
- Body/Appearance - Interior
- Brakes, ABS
- Electrical
- Engine/Fuel System
- Radio, Amp, CD Changer, Speakers, FUBA Antennae
- Steering, Airbags
- Suspension
- Transmission, Clutch
- Wheels, Tires
- Specs, Warranties, Recalls, TSBs, etc.
- Air Conditioning, Heating
- Miscellaneous
This wiki's contents come from the old GTI VR6 library.
If you find a page in this wiki that looks messed up, you should:
- Look up the corresponding page in the the old GTI VR6 library.
- Let us know
- Want to help maintain/edit this wiki? Drop us a line.
