IAPA April 1992

SPECIAL EDITION
Clean And Tasty Helps.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY PAUL DEXLER
Changes to the
Neuspeed
n the wall over the desk in Bill
Neumann's office is a framed picture
that tells much of the story about what .
he and his company have set out to do. It
consists of several pages from Hot Rod
magazine, January, 1960. It shows young
Bill Neumann with his open wheel '32
Ford roadster, fitted with a '58 Chevy small
block with triple carburetors. The article
commented on the extremely sanitary and
tasteful way the rod was put together, and
that tradition is still apparent 31 years
later.
Sitting under that picture, Neumann is
constantly reminded of the direction he
has set for his companies. Neumann is
Underhood
CEO of three companies that operate unmodifications are
der the banner ofAutomotive Performance
all bolt-ons,
Systems. The companies are Automotive
almost invisible
Performance Systems, which handles
after installation.
mail-<>rder and retail sales; Neumann DisOnly the strut tietributing, which takes care of wholesale
bar shows.
sales and import/export; and Neuspeed,
which does research and development,
design, engineering, manufacturing and
produces special vehicles, mostly based on
water-cooled VW products.
According to Bill Neumann, the company was started in 1975 as a small familyrun business. Since then, it has grown
enough to have required three moves, the
last to its current facility in Anaheim, Calif.
in 1984. From the start, Neumann and his
sons decided that to be competitive and
build the kind of reputation they desired,
they must offer only the best service and
products available. This includes personal
testing and evaluation ofall products, along
with a criterion that they would only sell
products they would use on their own
personal vehicles. To assist with the testing of product, the equipment in the immaculate back-shop includes a Clayton
chassis dynamometer.
In addition, from the start, all orders
received by 2 p.m. are shipped the same
These systems include components such
day and all correspondence is answered
as an upper strut tie-bar that takes the
within 24 hours. Technical assistance is
twist out of the uni-body structure for
available to customers at all stages from
more accurate steering. For Rabbit and
purchase through installation and this,
Scirocco models, the company has also
along with the quality of the products and
developed a lower strut tie-bar. For the
service, has developed a loyal and growing
later models-Golf, Jetta II and Corradocustomer following throughout North
there is also a rear strut tie-bar to take the
America.
twist out of the rear end of the structure.
One of the primary product ranges that
This minimizes understeer by reducing
Neuspeed offers is suspension systems.
0
38
Corrado are
relatively subtle,
maintaining the
feel of the
original styling
without any
garish add-ons.
.
,.
The rear strut tiebar takes flex and
twist out of the
rear of the
structure.
chassis flex and improves stability in corner braking.
Neuspeed also produces front sway bars
in 22 mm and 25 mm diameters and rear
bars in 25 mm and 28 mm diameters. The
bars feature bolt-<>n installation and the
Golf, Jetta II and Corrado rear bars have
three adjustment positions to fine-tune
the handling. Ball-joints and polyurethane
bushings are used to mount the bars and
IMPORT AUTOMOTIVE PARTS & ACCESSORIES
SPECIAL EDITION
Momo wheels
have been
painted to match
the body and
shod with
Y okohama A008
rubber.
Flofit seats have
been covered in
leather to match
the Neuspeed
steering wheel.
Kamei
ground-effects kit
has been
supplemented by
a Zender spoiler.
the rear sway bars extend back to the shock
mounts for more positive control.
The company also produces springs,
made from chrome silicon steel, shot
peened, tempered and set to within a two
percent tolerance. Progressive rate design
is used and the springs lower the cars
about 1.25 inches.
THE NEUSPEED CORRADO
As an example of what can be done with
the parts available from Neumann's Automotive Performance Systems, we bring
you the Neuspeed Corrado. Along with the
other vehicles from VW, the new Corrado
sport coupe is slowly gaining acceptance.
Neumann took one to show both that it
can be improved with considerable taste
and just how much potential is in the car.
Through careful selection of performance
and appearance accessories, a subtle new
look and a not-so-subtle improvement in
power and handling has been produced.
Suspension modifications include
Neuspeed front and rear sway bars,
Neuspeed progressive-rate springs,
Neuspeed/Koni front and rear externally
adjustable shock absorbers, and Neuspeed
' upper fro At strut tie-bar and rear strut tiebars. The result of these modifications is a
solid and controlled ride and road-feel.
Under the hood, the engine has been
equipped with a 2.0-Liter Stage II
Neuspeed/Corrado HP Kit to bring the
performance up. A stock 1.8-liter supercharged Corrado develops 158 bhp.
Equipped with the Stage II Kit, output is
boosted to 185 bhp. Equipped with the
2.0-liter version as is this car, power is up
to 200 bhp, with a corresponding improvement in low speed torque.
The kit includes a new hard-anodized
billet aluminum supercharger pulley to
increase boost pressure to 14.5 psi, a fuel
enrichment system, a Gillet middle pipe
and muffle~(which also produces an exhaust note in keeping with the increased
thrust), a 180° water thermostat, 180° fan
switch and a 6400 rpm rev- limiter. For
those wanting to produce similar improvements in their own vehicles, the
Neuspeed kit includes all hardware and
instructions, and all parts are bolt-on,
requiring no modification to the car.
Optionally, a Neuspeed Supercharger
Cam is also available to produce an additional 15 bhp at 60QQ rpm from the 1.8liter engine.
Appearance modifications include a
Kamei cerodynamic kit, a Zender rear
spoiler, genuine European headlights with
driving lights and fog lights, Momo Star
wheels and Yokohama tires.
Inside, there is a Neuspeed leather
anatomic steering wheel and matching
shift knob. An optional two-gauge panel
mounted in the center console holds a
VDO boost pressure gauge and an oil
pressure gauge, while the interior is
completed by a set of Flofit seats specially
upholstered in leather to match the steering wheel. The rear seat and side panels
have also been done in leather to finish off
the interior.
The result is a car that is striking without being garish, a car in which the performance potential matches the appearance.
The Corrado is a very good car to begin
with, the Neuspeed modifications make it
into a great car. For more information.
AUTOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE SYSTEMS, INC.
3300 Corte Malpaso • Camarillo, CA 93012
805.388.7171 tel • 805.388.0030 fax • [email protected]
WWW.NEUSPEED.COM
lAPA
AP RIL 1991
39