When a specific species is on the brink of extinction, the entire world goes berserk and finds ways to revive its population. The Bengal tiger, for example. But did you know that some subspecies of humans are also heading towards extinction? You see them all around you, but this population is still shrinking day by day! What I’m talking about are petrolheads, of course. Now, I don’t mean to compare petrolheads to tigers; what I’m trying to emphasise is the fact that today most of Gen Z aren’t really interested in cars or bikes, and primarily look at any vehicle just as a source of transportation.
Look around you. The roads are littered with electric vehicles, which might be good for the planet, but they lack emotion because they are, in essence, just modes of transportation to take you from A to B. And it’s not like Gen Z is complaining about it because they really cannot be bothered about it, and it hurts my heart when I see this. Gladly, not every Gen Z person in India thinks the same way. There is a group of young chaps based out of Pune who, like any conservatory, are trying to ignite the flame of desire for cars that run on God’s sweet nectar and not electricity. Say hello to the boys at The Driver’s Hub, an automotive YouTube channel that is paving the way for the next generation petrolheads.
So, what exactly is The Driver’s Hub aka TDH? It’s a social-media channel started by Soham Saraf back in 2016 who initially, like any other enthusiast, wanted to create a platform to express his views on the world of automobiles. Saraf realised that most of the Indian automotive media were centred primarily around two things: plain old reviews or moto vlogging. What he really wanted to do was to bring something different to the table; he’d always been attracted to supercars & sportscars, but he also knew that those were unattainable for most Indians. Instead, he decided to look at how to go fast without burning a gigantic hole in one’s pocket, and that is how he jumped headfirst into the world of tuning and aftermarket modifications.
Armed with a DSLR camera and sheer willpower, TDH set out to make videos and social-media con tent around modifications. After the initial teething issues any new channel faces while featuring a turbo charged Honda Civic built by Race Concepts, they understood that this is what people wanted to see more of. Interestingly, TDH doesn’t only focus on featuring other people’s vehicles but is also known to cook up its own project cars. After collab orating with Mechanix Automotive, it has created numerous vehicles, which it has showcased extensively on its channels. One such project that Mechanix has built is a Skoda Octavia vRS with a manual gearbox and an AWD conversion, but more on that later.
The team at TDH is constantly upgrading their own personal vehicles and there are the inevitable costs of each part they add, the benefits of adding those parts, and the issues they face while adding or deleting any parts. But it isn’t always smooth sailing; while working on a VW Virtus, they faced many issues since the automaker locks the ECU, which is quite the hassle for anyone looking to upgrade it. One solution is to import a new ECU from Europe, but they still haven’t figured out how to add performance engine mods to the stock Virtus in India. Nonetheless, problems aside, skim through their YT channel, and one build that stands out almost immediately is a BMW M340i, built by Mechanix Automotive.
Started by Aniruddh Joardar, Mechanix Automotive is a work shop that primarily works on VW and Audi group vehicles. But every now and then, this garage works on building some of the most incredible project cars in India. Take, for instance, the M340i I mentioned above. This BMW is no slouch to begin with, but Mechanix has dialled everything up to 11 on it — it’s running a Milltek downpipe, a full custom exhaust, a carbon fibre spoiler, HRE wheels, CSF cooling upgrades, a stage 2 ECU and TCU tune, KW V3 suspension and a whole lot more. Additionally, this is India’s first M340i XDrive with an ‘XDrive delete’, allowing it to send power only to the rear wheels.
Like the M340i, Mechanix has also built plenty of other cars that certainly can make any petrolhead’s wet dream come true, but the one that truly takes the cake for me is their most special build ever, a Skoda Octavia vRS, which has been converted to AWD from front-wheel drive and also gets a manual gear box! I must admit, the whole point of this story was simply because ever since I heard about this vehicle, every inch of my body was aching to get some seat time in that beast.
To begin with, a standard box fresh 2017 Octavia vRS is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol motor pushing a maximum of 230 bhp and 35.69 kgm, and sends power to the front wheels via a 6-speed DSG automatic gearbox. But that certainly didn’t satisfy Joardar’s itch to go fast. What began as a simple upgrade to the vRS slowly snowballed, or should I say avalanched, into India’s only vRS with a 6-speed manual gearbox from a Volkswagen Golf R and a Golf R Haldex AWD system. Additionally, it’s packed with performance upgrades, including an ITG air filter, Do88 intercooler, Sparco Assetto Gara wheels, a custom de-cat downpipe with cat-back exhaust and Varex mufflers, and a Stage 2 ECU tune by Venom, pushing 320 bhp and nearly 50.98 kgm.
All right, enough technical talk; I must clear my conscience and state that I, for one, have always desired a vRS. I have posters of it adorning my walls, and I have caught myself day dreaming about driving a vRS plenty of times. But in all my daydreams, there was always something that irked me, and that was the fact that when you did push the standard Octavia vRS, due to it being front-wheel drive, it always felt like a limiting factor in truly unleashing the car’s potential. Nonetheless, I was happy with everything else the car offered until I experienced what the true capabilities of a vRS can be.
After reassuring Joardar that I would be gentle with his baby, I headed to Tamhini Ghat on the out skirts of Pune. For the first ten minutes, it was just trying to get used to the fact that I had to manually change gears in this vRS. You know the saying ‘never meet your heroes’? It might make sense sometimes, but certainly not in this case! I have never had my cheeks hurt from smiling so much! This car just brings joy into your heart, the gear shifts are so slick that it makes you want to keep rowing through the gearbox. Down Tamhini, I threw the car into corners and the all-wheel-drive setup gripped the road like glue. Frankly, I have to say that during my drive, I did forget about the promise I made of being gentle and just went ballistic with the vRS and my God, did it take it all so effortlessly.
Since the engine is also pushing 320 bhp, it makes you want to smash the accelerator at every possible moment, and combined with that manual gearbox, it just wants to keep on going till you reach illegal speeds in a matter of moments. Every second I spent driving the vRS, I could feel adrenaline coursing through parts of my body that I didn’t even know the hormone could reach. This thing really is a beast, and it’s quite a surprise that you don’t need to be a white-helmeted track superhero to tame this beast.
Every single modification makes you want to go faster and keeps you safe while doing so. I, for one, am someone who doesn’t like driving very fast because most of the road users in India are out to find ways to kill you most of the time. But every single moment I spent in this vRS made me shut off my logical brain and just hoon the car around Tamhini. I have driven quite a few modded vehicles in the past and frankly they always felt incomplete, but that wasn’t the case with the vRS. Everything worked flawlessly and it did everything I asked it to do without a cough or screech.
It’s the sensation when every fibre in your body is telling you to not do something, but you ignore that and do it anyway, and feel a sense of bliss you have never felt. I mean, up until this point, the thought of getting a vRS was just something that lingered at the back of my mind. But after driving Mechanix’s vRS, I am having to fight myself to just take a leap of faith and get myself one, too.
And that is exactly it — this feeling that seems to be missing in today’s younger generation. Unfortunately, they’d much rather be glued to their electronic devices rather than be pinned into a driver’s seat. That is precisely where outfits like TDH and Mechanix Automotive step in. From all the conversations I had with them, it certainly looks like they can connect with the newer generation of petrolheads, guide them away from EVs and emphasise building something that makes them unique and happy. And I hope more and more of the newer generation realises that cars aren’t ever just about transportation — they’re about real emotion, too.
