Boston Acoustics

New Sonic PowerThe amplification of this system is unique. And it is the first amplifier to be produced by Boston Acoustics. (Working for Boston Acoustics has its benefits.) Leeper mounted all of the amplifiers on a metal frame that is bolted down so they are very secure. Three 1-farad Tsunami aluminum stiffening caps with voltmeters are used to beef up the power supply to the amps. The system consists of three amplifiers. The front amplifier is a Boston Acoustics GT-1804 4-channel amplifier that is connected to the Pro6.53 3-way component system using BI-Amp mode; so two channels power the Pro6.5 midbass and the other two power the Pro 4.5 mid and Neo5t tweeter to get a powerful front stage. The second amp is a GT-902 2-channel amp that runs a set of Pro6.5 2-way components in the rear doors, and was custom mounted behind the 4-channel. The third amp is a large 2-channel amp, the GT-2402, which runs into a 2-ohm load to a pair of Boston Acoustics Pro10.54 LF woofers wired in parallel.

There are a few cool features on the new Boston Acoustics amplifiers that help the system overall. One is that all of them have fans built in them; so Leeper was able to mount them in low airflow areas. Also, they have Q adjustment for crossover slope, meaning you can perfectly dial in the crossover settings (and they are 2-stable). Moreover, because of the sleek profile they could be installed without taking up a lot of space, as is clear from the pictures.

Next to the amplifiers is a pair of custom single enclosures that were uniquely designed. Leeper built an enclosure out of wood and fiberglass that houses a Boston Acoustics Pro10.54LF, side firing with a passive radiator down firing. Leeper says this setup allows him to have a small box with higher output and lower frequency response than a ported box. No port noise! He says he got the idea from a box that Boston Acoustics makes called the C110. Once the boxes and the amplifiers were installed Cliff built a cover panel out of fiberglass and wood. He made it into two parts, so there is an insert panel that can be removed easily to adjust the amplifiers' gains. He painted the larger panel body color and the insert silver to break the color. He also made a vent that allows the passive radiators to vent in to the trunk out of polished aluminum.

A custom Accele Electronics WPL269IR infrared camera and an LCDP 8-inch monitor were mounted on a custom panel that was made out of fiberglass and painted silver to match the amplifier trim panels. We asked Patel and Leeper the purpose for this and they said simply, "Tailgate parties!" As if one camera were not enough, Cliff mounted Accele's WPLC269R color back-up camera in the place of the factory trunk keyhole so Patel can back up safely without damaging his body kit.

Now of course it wouldn't be a Gestalt car if it didn't have a good security system. To complete the package Leeper integrated the factory alarm system with a nationwide tracking unit by Satellite Security Systems. It tells Patel exactly where his car is; he is alerted any time there is a break-in. He can also track the car in real-time in the event a parking lot valet decides to take this car for a joyride (although who would blame the guy if he wanted to!). After all, this Passat has everything a car audio enthusiast would want: hot new components in a smooth install, performance upgrades, and a great look. In short, it really is a European dream car, and one of baddest VW Passat's in the world! So look for it at a car show or sound-off near you and check it out for yourself.