Jordan Green’s been climbing the VAG ladder for years and he found this pot of gold (well, green) at the top. Sure he’s slipped down a few snakes on the way, but when you’re as determined as this fella, you just keep on climbing…
My history of modifying is all VW!” That’s a phrase we hear a lot from Volkswagen owners. There’s something about the brand that reels people in, pins them down and indoctrinates them like some weird cult. And Jordan Green has been hanging off the towering VeeDub ladder from day one.
“My first car was a modified Mk3 Golf,” he explains. “A barely running rustbucket on cheap coils and awful wheels, which I pumped way too much money into trying to save. That’s the car that sparked it all off for me. When it went to car heaven, I got a Mk4 Golf. And then came the Scirocco. I also had a Polo Classic saloon while the ’Rocco was in paint, and then a super-clean Vento came up with 41k on the clock, so that’s my other project.” See, it’s not just a marque affi nity. It’s an all-consuming obsession.
Another thing we often hear from owners, regardless of manufacturer, is that the car was initially purchased as a pick-me-up, a mojo booster to help surge through dark times. In Jordan’s case, a break-up in 2015 left him in a bad place, so he treated himself. The Scirocco appealed, as it just looks so much sleeker alongside the more sensible Golf. Although it’s fair to say he had a few ideas in mind to further ramp up the aggression. Perhaps he wasn’t quite prepared for how much of a cash-soak it’d be, however…
“I bought it completely bog standard, as I try to with all my cars,” says Jordan. “It’s nice to have a blank canvas. Plus you don’t have to worry about anyone else having bodged stuff on it. And at the risk of sounding clichéd, it was only meant to be a minimally modded car!”
Yeah. Sure. We’d argue that the air-ride setup, purchased before he’d even taken delivery of the car, says otherwise. It’s safe to say he’s thrown more than enough money at the rolling stock too, with his modified VW Scirocco variously wearing Bentley Mulliners, BBS splits, Audi Rotors, a couple of sets of Rotiforms, and various AMG designs, before arriving at the VIP Modular rims you see today. “I bought these not long after the arch kit,” he says. “So I had them sitting around for about eight months before they were on the car. I was really unsure about them, but once I saw them fi tted I totally changed my mind! They came up at a good price and happened to be pretty much exactly the specs I needed for a tight fit to the arches while still tucking. So it was a bit of a no-brainer.”
Ah yes, that arch kit. It does alter the profile of the ’Rocco a bit, doesn’t it? The seed of the idea was planted in Wörthersee, the crucible of VAG mischief, when Jordan spotted a wide-arch R8 back in 2016 and started getting funny ideas. His research led him to a firm by the name of Ingo Noak, who were happy to sell him a substantial wedge of girth. Fastforward to early ‘17 and the car was in the bodyshop, primed for rebirth.
“Things sort of spiralled from there,” he laughs. “Aside from general wide-arching and paint, there was a whole load more behind the scenes that they sorted to make sure it was going to last. They really pulled the car apart and were meticulous about it, widening the front arches even more, relocating bumper mounts, making up inner arch trims, sealing everything that could possibly fill up with road crap and so on.
“I also picked up an R front bumper and skirts to go with the arch kit, as well as an R32 rear valance smoothed into the rear bumper. The bonnet is a vented carbon fibre number – why not, eh?”
And the paint? “That’s a funny one. We picked the colour from a chip and had the code, but nobody knows which manufacturer it originally came from. At least it provides a good guessing game for all of us!”
This allows Jordan to be supremely mysterious on the showground too. What colour is it? Ah, you’ll just have to guess. And no, it’s not a wrap…
With a long history of static Volkswagens scraping over the local speedbumps, the ability to roll smoothly on air is something of a novelty, although he’s not quite got used to all the attention the car receives just yet. Being a daily driver, this car has the uncanny ability to make the character behind the wheel feel like a celebrity. Everyone’s pointing it out to their mates and snapping pictures on their phones, even when he’s just popped out for a pint of milk.
“I drive the Scirocco pretty much everywhere – as long as there’s no width restrictions,” Jordan grins. “It turns heads wherever I take it. I still find it pretty surreal. Especially when people are taking photos of it parked up, or posing their kids next to it!
“I only ever did all of this because I like how it looks and wanted to do something a bit different. I wasn’t too fussed about taking it to loads of shows or going viral, like a lot of people seem to be. That being said, when people appreciate it or come to talk to me about it, I think it’s really nice to hear their take on it. It’s really cool that people appreciate how the car has turned out and that it lets me meet so many people I probably wouldn’t
have otherwise.”
This does, to be honest, sound like a quintessentially Volkswagen-like attitude. Sure, there’s plenty of bagged Golfs out there built solely for the Insta-likes. But more often than not, these Wolfsburg icons are built simply to satisfy personal wants or needs. Anything beyond that is a happy bonus.
For every giddying ladder there’s a gargantuan snake. Take, for example, the trip back from Wörthersee when the turbo actuator launched itself and Jordan had to drive 800 miles in limp mode, fully loaded, with three passengers. But these things are sent to try us and setbacks only help form solid plans.
Look at the engine: the TDI has been remapped and treated to a Forge intake and S3 intercooler. But Jordan readily admits he’s become bored of its 210bhp. That recalcitrant turbo has pushed forward the next stage of evolution. “I want an R32 turbo setup and AWD, so I can really scare myself,” he smirks. And who could blame him?
“The car’s pretty much at the stage where I could leave it alone now,” he continues. “It was definitely a big decision to go wide-arch, I knew I was basically destroying any remaining value the car had and that I’d never make back any of the money I’d spent. But hey, that’s not why we do it. Nothing annoys me more than people who get too focused on seeing their car as an investment. Just enjoy the damn thing and do what you want to it! The main thing I want to do is give it the guts to match the looks, and then maybe I’ll be happy with it. Maybe.”
It’s appropriate to note at this point that the game of snakes and ladders, when it was invented in ancient India, was based on the concepts of karma and destiny. And that’s very much mirrored in Jordan’s approach to modified VWs in general and this Scirocco in particular. Fate chose the brand, destiny informs the path of the project, and karma rewards his exemplary modding choices.
Will the car ever be finished? No, of course it won’t. Because for people like this, there is no end point. It’s all about climbing that ladder, slipping down a serpent, then enjoying the ascent up an even bigger ladder. It’s a fulfilling way to live.
TECH SPEC: VW SCIROCCO
STYLING
Custom green paint; Ingo Noak wide-arch kit; Scirocco R front bumper and skirts; front arches widened with custom inner arch trims; bumper mounts relocated; R32 rear valance smoothed into bumper; vented carbon-fibre bonnet.
TUNING
2.0 TDI; manual transmission; Forge intake; Milltek exhaust system with R32 tails; S3 intercooler and Darkside pipework; remap; 210bhp.
CHASSIS
11x19in VIP Modular VX210 wheels (ET15 front, ET0 rear) in candy orange with shadow chrome lips; Air Lift suspension with V2 management; Audi TT RS brakes.
INTERIOR
Recaro CS seats (from Lotus Evora) with yellow stitching to match engine bay pipework; yellow seatbelts; doorcards, gaiters and armrest trimmed in Alcantara to match seat centres.
THANKS
I’d like to thank (and recommend) all the boys at Riviera Autobody – without them the car would still just be a tatty black Scirocco on bags and wheels; also Mo Miah at Airspeed for helping keep it running every time I break something and for bailing me out when things go tits up two days before I go on road trips; Jamie, Matty, Mikey, Lee and all the guys at Threesixty Alloys for the sweet new paintjob on my wheels; Iffay at Threesixty; Joey and the guys at Auto Finesse; lastly I’d like to thank my missus, Hannah, for accepting that my other girlfriend is a car!
Words Dan Bevis Photography Dan Pullen
