Remember when 10-second cars were exotics or heavily tuned Japanese models with all-wheel drive?

Well, things have changed, because this insanely-modified Volkswagen Golf GTI of the Mk3 generation, literally blew its front door off while running the quarter-mile in a blistering 8.53sec.

That’s faster than a Bugatti Veyron, but the time posted isn’t even close to what appears to be the 1/4 mile record for front-wheel drive cars, which was allegedly set by a Volkswagen Gol last year, in Brazil, after completing the run in 7.7 seconds, at 301km/h (187mph), or 19km/h (12mph) faster than this Golf GTI.

Nevertheless, an insane amount of work went into this old hot hatch and the owner was kind enough to pop the hood for a few brief seconds and talk about some of the upgrades.

These include a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine, and plenty of effort put into the aerodynamic and weight distribution. New suspension was added too, along with better brakes, racing seats with six-point harness, and roll cage, in case things go bad.

VIDEOS