ABT made a smart move when they started tuning Volkswagens and Audis. As the VAG empire has grown, so has the number of cars that share the same group of engines. Now ABT can include Seat and Skoda-owners as potential customers, and with their latest range of ECU updates they’re covering just about the entire VAG engine range.
There are new ECUs available for the 1.2 and 1.4-litre petrol TSI engines, as well as the latest 1.6-litre diesel. The two petrol engines are proving to be very popular, combining good economy with decent performance, and the new diesel unit is selling well too.
With ABT’s new ECU in place the 1.2 TSI has its power increased from 105PS to 140PS (139bhp in old money). That’s a huge 33% increase in power and ABT claim that you’ll still get the same economy figures. Assuming y0u don’t make the most of your more powerful engine, of course!
In ABT’s hands the 125PS version of the 1.4 TSI is increased to 160PS, a 28% increase. There’s also an upgrade for the 180PS version of the 1.4 TSI, as fitted to the Audi A1, Seat Ibiza Cupra, VW Polo GTI and Skoda Fabia vRS – this is pushed up to 210PS, matching the output of the latest 2.0-litre Golf GTI.
For diesel lovers there’s a choice of tune on the 1.6-litre TDI – you can opt for 116PS or 125PS, an increase from the standard 105PS.
No word on prices yet, but as long as it’s not outrageously expensive this could be a very effective upgrade.
