Customer Spotlight: VW Golf R Drag Race Car With Sparco Grid Q Seats
Customer cars, January 2025
One of our customers runs a heavily modified Volkswagen Golf R, and it has just been featured in a YouTube video from Dreamscape Automotive, filmed at Crail Raceway, Scotland's drag strip. We supplied the seating: a pair of Sparco Grid Q bucket seats on M2 Motorsport direct fit subframes.
Here is a look at the car, the video, and why the seat and frame combination suits a Golf that spends its weekends going fast in a straight line.
- Customer car: a modified Volkswagen Golf R used for drag racing
- Featured by Dreamscape Automotive, filmed at Crail Raceway in Scotland
- Seats: Sparco Grid Q, fibreglass, FIA 8855-1999
- Frames: M2 Motorsport direct fit subframes for the Golf Mk5, Mk6 and Mk7
- The Grid Q is a side mount seat and needs side mounts as well as the frame
What is on this page
The car
The Golf R is a strong starting point for a build: a turbocharged four cylinder, four-wheel drive and a car that can still be used every day. Plenty of owners go further with engine tuning, exhaust and suspension work, and this one has gone a long way down that road.
This one is blue with a black bonnet and dark wheels, built for drag racing. Four-wheel drive is a real help off the line, and a car like this puts a lot of load through the driver on every launch.
The video
Dreamscape Automotive spent the day with the car at Crail Raceway. The video covers a walk round the car and its modifications, the tuning behind it, some time on the strip and a look inside, where you can see the Grid Q seats we supplied. It also gives a good picture of the Scottish car scene around it.
The seats: Sparco Grid Q
The Grid Q (part number S008009RNR) is a fibreglass bucket seat homologated to FIA 8855-1999, the standard most UK club series use. It has fabric trim, six point harness slots and a shape that works with a HANS device, and it is listed for drivers with a 32 to 36 inch waist.
For a drag car the attraction is simple. A fixed back bucket holds the driver in the same place on every run, so the car’s behaviour is easier to feel, and a fibreglass shell is a big weight saving over the factory seat with its motors, runners and airbags.
The Grid Q is a side mount seat. It is sold on its own and needs Sparco’s FIA steel side mounts plus a car specific frame, which is where the M2 subframes come in.
The frames: M2 Motorsport direct fit subframes
Getting a bucket seat into a modern Golf safely is mostly about the frame. M2 Motorsport make direct fit steel subframes that bolt to the car’s factory seat mounting points, so there is no cutting or welding. The same frame covers the Golf Mk5, Mk6 and Mk7, and it takes side mount buckets on 290mm side mount holes.
Two brand rules apply with these frames. Corbeau side mount seats now use M10 fixings, while M2 and PCI Racing side mounts are drilled for M8, so the holes need drilling out slightly for M10, a small modification rather than a straight bolt-on. Recaro seats go straight on Planted brackets, an OMP base frame can take one with a little modification and drilling, and for any other frame, ask us. A Sparco side mount seat like the Grid Q is a straightforward match.
Garreth’s advice is to give us the exact generation and year of your Golf before ordering, and we will confirm the frame listed for it along with the side mounts you need.
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Why a bucket seat makes sense in a Golf R
The factory seats in a Golf R are comfortable road seats, but they are heavy and they let the driver move about under hard acceleration and braking. A bucket seat on a proper frame usually sits lower and holds the driver firmly, and on a car with this much power, that consistency matters.
An FIA homologated seat also keeps your options open if you go on to compete in a series that asks for one, and it gives you proper harness slots. Just check your championship regulations for the seat standard they want before you buy.
Which seats did the customer fit to the Golf R?
A pair of Sparco Grid Q fibreglass bucket seats, homologated to FIA 8855-1999.
Which subframes suit a Golf Mk7?
We supplied M2 Motorsport direct fit subframes, which bolt to the factory mounting points and cover the Golf Mk5, Mk6 and Mk7.
Is the Sparco Grid Q side mount or base mount?
Side mount. It needs Sparco FIA steel side mounts and a car specific frame.
Can I fit Corbeau side mount seats to M2 frames?
Not straight on any more. Corbeau side mount seats now use M10 fixings, while M2 and PCI Racing side mounts are drilled for M8, so the holes need drilling out slightly for M10. It is a small modification; ask us if you are unsure.
Where was the video filmed?
At Crail Raceway, the drag strip in Fife, Scotland.
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The combinationGrid Q on M2 frames
An FIA fibreglass bucket on a bolt-in frame: a simple, strong setup for a fast Golf.
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