What the heck is that? This is one of those pieces that was only available in the supercharger equipped Corrados. It is an intercooler and it is designed to lower the temperature of the charged air that was compressed by the supercharger. By lowering the temperature, the air becomes more dense allowing more oxygen and therefore more horsepower. The normally aspirated VR6 engines did not need an intercooler. Only the forced induction engines needed this contraption.
Now that I've acquired all of the necessary parts to reassemble the the front end it is now time to reposition the Intercooler into its proper place. The shape of the intercooler is designed to fit into a very tight area. The entire engine bay of the Corrado is already very tight so fitting something of this size in an airstream accessible from the front of the car is an engineering challenge. VW engineers did a good job considering the challenges they had to overcome. I'm glad they didn't make some big scoop or some overbearing wide-mouth grille up front to accomodate it. The front facade of the Corrado is very smooth and in line with its aerodynamic shape. By concealing the intercooler into the lower front bumper maintained the design integrity.
Some complain that the intercooler was undersized for the Corrado. They are correct is many respects but it is sufficient for the majority of driving conditions in North America. Only on the warmest of Southern California day do I long for a larger and more effective intercooler.
In preparation for this installation, I cleaned this out the intercooler with engine degreaser and then replaced the aging hoses with Samco Silicone hoses. Too bad these are not visible as they are so very pretty. The OEM hoses on the intercooler are very specialized are very expensive to replace at nearly $100 each. So the $235.00 set of intercooler hoses made by Samco is a bargain in comparison. More on this later.
With the intercooler in place, the front bumper can now be installed. We are making good progress.
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