Golf GTI 290 gets sporty styling improvements from Manhart

German tuning house Manhart has sprinkled its tuner magic on the eighth-gen VW Golf GTI has received some sporty styling improvements, a huge increase in power and a distinctive interior.

MANHART achieved the power boost by adding its in-house MHtronik module to the two-liter turbocharged four-pot engine pumping out 290 horsepower, 45 more horses than a stock Golf GTI. More importantly, it also churns out 313 pound-feet of torque, a marginal bump from the stock engine’s 273 pound-feet. The stock seven-speed DSG transmission remains, while a number of other visual and mechanical tweaks have been made to further set this model apart from the stock GTI Mk 8.

MANHART offers lowering springs courtesy of H&R, suspension tuning, individual tuning options to the brakes and the exhaust, as well as visual upgrades in the form of “Venturi Style” rims measuring 19” front-and-rear in “Silk Matte Black”, wrapped in sticky 225/35/ZR19 tires.

Elsewhere, a new diffuser to improve downforce and a decal set have been added, as has a very Rolls-Royce-esque “Starry Sky” roofliner that incorporates countless LEDs into the car’s interior roof.