SPOTLIGHT: KD Designs MK4 Golf

Kyle Duquesnay’s sublime MK4 Golf wouldn’t look out of place on Europe’s most hotly contested show fields. But how did it evolve on its journey from stocker to fully worked show car? Often the journey is as exciting as the outcome, and with an outcome as good as this… we were itching to find out more!

This particular build came to Kyle at KD Designs with the brief of a simple engine bay clean up, but part way through the original owner lost focus with the build. So Kyle kept the dream alive by purchasing the red MK4 1.8T from him. From then on it was full steam ahead to show just what the Rhode Island firm could do.

Long before Kyle’s shop opened in May ’13 he had been building cars for himself and friends and had a wealth of experience to call on. Kyle’s first introduction to the VW scene was actually his first car, a sturdy B3 Passat in 1999 and it’s been a never ending adventure since then.

His history with Air Lift goes back a long way, too. ‘After ripping off my rear bumper on the way to Waterfest I knew coils were dead to me. I installed an Air Lift kit on my car back in 2005 and was probably one of the first to go down that route, I had that exact kit in my car for almost 10-years without a single issue.

So for this project there was only really one choice; an Air Lift Performance threaded body kit with digital management package to get the stretched and widened fenders sitting pretty over the Schmidt Race 2000s.

Kyle commented that the suspension install was actually one of the most straightforward parts of the build. ‘Installation is very straight forward as all their kits are bolt in. With endless adjustability you can dial in the suspension to your exact needs.

With Air Lift Performance taking care of the chassis, Kyle went ahead and equipped the car with a whole host of engine tuning highlights. The fully smoothed engine bay features a built 1.8T with a Garrett GT35R as its centrepiece. The whole lot is powered through a LSD equipped transmission and stopped by huge Brembo calipers and 2 piece rotors. The devil is in the details, check out the custom smoothed scuttle cover – not something you would notice at 1st glance!

Inside the air tank nestles in a suede shod interior, with bespoke Recaro seats. Kyle has remained true to the theme and kept it red and black throughout with a mixture of textures to keep things interesting.

It’s great to hear stories from installers and hear how their own builds progress. There isn’t a panel on this car that hasn’t been massaged but we don’t think we’ve seen the last of this MK4, and for now we’re keeping this book open…