Hunting for unique and unusual LS swaps is sometimes the best part of attending an automotive event. Occasionally you can find gold — that LS-swapped vehicle that is packed with design features you don’t normally see that are executed with a level of fit and finish that oddly makes the build make sense. Recently while attending the Hyper-fest event at Virginia International Raceway, world-renowned photographer and content creator Larry Chen and his team came across this turbo LS-swapped VW Mk4 Golf that is a marvel of design and engineering.

Screenshots and video courtesy of Larry Chen

Built by Steve Berchtold of R59 Automotive, this Mk4 Golf R32 is as wild a build as we’ve ever seen. The Mk4 R32 platform came from the factory with all-wheel-drive and a DOHC V6 engine. Berchtold tells Chen he immediately began entering autocross and time attack events after purchasing his R32. It didn’t take long before he felt as though he had pushed the little Golf as far as he could. That is when he decided to take the leap and build a completely new setup that is a one-of-a-kind race car.

The biggest change is that you will see with the hood open there is no longer an engine where it should be. The engine bay is now home to a giant duct that vents hot air from the radiator out through the hood. Seeing that leads to the most obvious question — where is the engine? Berchtold built a custom tube chassis that allowed him to place the engine in the center of the car where the driver and passenger would normally sit. This LS-swapped VW Golf is now a mid-engine monster. With the engine now housed squarely in the center of the car, the immediate follow-up question is where does he sit and drive the car from?

Berchtold moved the driver’s seat to the rear of the car so he now drives from the backseat. The roll cage was moved to the rear as well. Berchtold says he built the car around the engine position. So everything had to be relocated to fit within the confines of the VW Golf body. The turbo is located up front under the hood, while the oil coolers and air intake filter replaced the headlights. With the turbo LS engine housed inside a box essentially, Berchtold needed a cooling solution to get heat away from the engine. He designed a duct that routs hot air out of the rear of the engine box to an exit on the passenger side quarter panel. Everything in his LS-swapped Golf is designed with function and ease of maintenance in mind. All of the electronics are located in an easy-to-access area behind the seat, and the engine can be accessed by removing several panels from the passenger side door area.

The LS1 powering the little VW is making 750 horsepower according to Berchtold. He shifts a Tremec Magnum manual transmission that sends the power to a Ford 8.8 rear differential that is part of the car’s independent rear suspension. The Golf rides on Bilstein coilovers and 18×10.5-inch Kansei Formlite series wheels wrapped in 295/30/ZR18 Toyo Proxes RR racing slicks. According to Berchtold, the LS-swapped Golf weighs 3,184 pounds but because he built the entire car around the engine placement he was able to achieve near-perfect weight distribution. As he was building the car he would place components wherever they needed to be to keep the weight distribution at approximately 25 percent on each corner.

Watching Chen’s video and listening to Berchtold’s explanation behind every aspect of his LS-swapped Golf shows the amount of thought and design he put into this build. While he admits his car is not the fastest on the track, it is definitely one of the most unique and well-built race cars. If you find yourself at a track day or autocross event and you see a guy sitting in the back seat of a red race car, don’t worry, it’s just Berchtold having fun in his wild turbo LS-swapped Mk4 Golf.