After much delay, we have our winner of the 2020 “Feature of the Year” tournament. This has been a long time coming and we would like to personally thank all of our participants and those that has contributed to bring this into fruition. From start to finish, this tournament was full of surprises and close wins. Each build that participated were originally weekly features. Towards the end of the month, each of these features were pitted up against each other where you, the European car loving community, voted on which build they liked the most. The winner would then become the “Feature of the Month”. For the final month of December we decided to change it up. We had collectively hand picked 3 of our own favorite runner ups, giving them another shot at being “Feature of the Month”. Once we had all 12 monthly features, they were to compete head to head until the winner could be crowned “Car Of The Year”.
In the end, it came down to two participants, @Randomsole and @RDirtytwo, with both exceptionally well crafted builds. The 1989 GLI Helios and 1992 Jetta GLI are relics of the past that came to remind us all of how far we’ve come in this age of modern cars. There could not have been a better match up. 
Throughout the tournament, participants were selected purely on their build. We wanted to make this tournament as unbiased as possible. No exceptions, or special treatments were given out. We were pleasantly surprised to hear from Angel after learning about his classic Jetta. This GLI is spectacular no matter where you look at it. Modified from bumper to bumper, yet still maintaining its originality. Nothing overly done and nothing left untouched. This build is just simply stunning.
Every ounce of this glorious GLI has been restored and/or upgraded. At the time of its monthly feature, much of the interior was going through some serious changes. So we really didn't get a chance to share what was being done, but you can be sure it was going to be big. With that being said, Angel has dropped the curtains and is showing off all of his hard work. The first thing you’ll notice is the seats. Rather than doing away with the classic looking seats, Angel actually had custom blue outer front Recaros built based around the design of the original seats. This keeps the overall interior updated rather than being completely modernized. Keeping with the theme, this stylish Jetta is outfitted with matching custom blue door cards and blue BBS VR6 custom mats.
Looking at this Helios as a whole, you can tell that this build is special. You can clearly see the great efforts of what Angel was trying to achieve. There are tons of modifications done to this GLI's interior alone. We’re talking Nothelle gas pedal with custom matching clutch and brake pedal, Black Forest shift knob, Kenwood speakers, the list continues. Even to the smallest details, like changing the upper ash tray and E-brake from the US spec to the European spec. There was a lot of work that was done to get this Jetta where it is today and we thank Angel for allowing us to share this experience with the European community.
At the end of this GLI’s monthly feature, we mentioned that Angel had additional plans to visually enhance appearance of the Helios. Its a debatable upgrade depending on which side of the fence you are on, but Angel has done away with his static setup and equipped his Jetta with an air ride suspension kit. More specifically, installed is a set of Air Lift slam series bags for the front and rear. Utilizing the 3P digital air management, this Helios can go from “Slammed Show Car” status to clearing Speed bumps without a problem. Now that’s cool and all, but Angel likes custom jobs. On top of that, everything has to stay within theme. So Angel finished off his Air Lift 3P manifold with a custom blue cover. As we stated before, its all in the details with this Helios.
Again we'd like to thank everyone for their help in making all of this possible. We've learned so many things from the feed back we've gotten and built many meaningful relationships along the way. We look forward to creating new experiences and further bringing the European community as close together as we can. If you would like to know a little more about the details of this build and the story behind it check out Angel's original feature of the month here
In addition to all the winnings that comes with achieving our top feature position, Angel will have a special spot reserved for him and his build should he attend any of our future shows. So keep an eye out for him and his featured Jetta GLI. Angel, it was our honor featuring your beauty of a build and hopefully it has inspired many just as much as it has done for us.
Special Message:
“Just want to thank you guys again for hosting this contest & for letting me be apart of it. Want to thank my wife & kids and family for supporting me through the build of this car. Thank Rob for all his countless help with everything! Thank the whole Jersey Hooligans Family for all there help as well.” - Angel Fuentes
All photos have been provided by Angel Fuentes and taken by @tony_watson and @gdhfilms
