What is an ABF 16V?
Back in 1992 when the 8v GTI was released in Europe the 112BHP didn’t cut it, so VW’s engine division was asked to design a 16v motor for the Mk3. After rolling out an ‘old’ 16v based engine at 130-140 BHP they were asked politely to go away and come back with a better design, as the competition of the time were all up around 150+ BHP (Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v & Ford Escort RS2000) After a further couple of years the ABF was born, but was producing nearly 170 BHP. This did not please VW as the VR6 was only kicking out 174 BHP, so the ABF was choked by the ECU to produce 150BHP, but maximize the torque. Also the tax brackets / insurance brackets in Europe / UK were working against a 170BHP 16v’er…so it went on sale in about 1995 with 150 BHP / 135 lb-ft. Thinking about this story, it makes sense, as a simple re-chip yields 170BHP and 160+ lb-ft….so it seems that the ABF was always designed to produce 170 BHP anyway…hence the large gains. This engine was always developed to be the ba
