According to the dictionary, Gestalt means: a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it could not be described merely as a sum of its parts. This is one of those lofty German terms used to describe the "oneness" of a thing; most people are familiar with it in the context of psychotherapy. But the definition here truly applies, as it is most apt to describe this European dream car that is very much a reality and serves as a daily driver for the owner of the vehicle, Al Patel.
Patel moved to the U.S. 14 years ago from beautiful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to sunny Los Angeles, CA. He was always passionate and even obsessed with car audio and electronic gadgets, and got started in the industry as an installer at Competition Soundworks (CS) in Cerritos, CA. He eventually moved into managing the place, and helped make it one of the top car audio shops in the country (it was named retailer of the year for 1997). In addition it has put together numerous competition-winning vehicles. After his success in that arena of the industry Patel decided to work for a manufacturer, and now serves as an account manager for Boston Acoustics, a company which enthusiasts should certainly be aware of through its reputation for fine speakers and other audio gear. Readers of this magazine may also recognize Al Patel as a former contributing editor to Car Audio and Electronics.
Considering his current position Patel had to make sure his next vehicle would stand out. The first thing was to choose the car. After careful consideration he decided on the Anthracite Blue 2001 VW 1.8T Passat, which was custom ordered with leather, steering control and the sunroof package. When it came time to consider the system design he set interior integrity as a goal. He wanted to include as many products as possible while leaving enough room to fit a stroller for his newborn little girl (or keeping the option to have cargo area in the trunk). As for the exterior -- it had to be visually stunning to match the level of the sound system.
The work on the exterior of the car fell to Joe Delio of Wet Works Garage in Stanton, CA. A veteran in the VW and import scene, he installed and painted the CARACTERE body kit from Belgium, car audio trim panels, custom turn signal lights in the side mirrors and engine panel parts. The next step was lowering the car with a Pro kit (springs, struts and front sway bar) from Eibach and to outfit it with TSW limited edition Xenon Pin Drive System 19" wheels. The wheels were painted graphite and are on a staggered setup: the front has 19 x 8 with 235/35/19 Yokohama AVS sport tires and the rear is even bigger: 19 x 9 with 265/30/19 tires. A very muscular look! For performance Patel went to Neuspeed to install the P-Chip to the factory computer for more horsepower. Greddy Performance installed a custom G2 exhaust system, which is one of a kind. To complement the performance package a set of iridium spark plugs, a K&N Air filter, a Greddy type-S blow-off valve and its turbo timer along with the brand's 52 mm turbo boost and exhaust temp gauges were installed. With all that speed Patel needed a brake system that could bring the car back to zero quickly. So StopTech in Lomita, CA installed a big brake kit, front and rear.
For what would truly set the Gestalt automobile apart from other performance Passats would be its audio system. For that Patel enlisted the help of Cliff Leeper from Progressive Mobile Electronics in San Diego, CA to execute this high-end install. Leeper is a veteran installer who has built many such systems and was geared up for the challenge. Patel designed this ultimate multimedia system and Leeper did all of the dirty work, making the system practical and serviceable, evenly distributing the weight, using materials such as metal brackets, aluminum trim rings and fiberglass.
Under the hood the factory battery was replaced with a Tsunami 1000cc yellow top because of the increased demand in current from the audio system. A custom metal bracket had to be made to secure the yellow top since it is different in size from the OEM battery. All of the wiring was upgraded to a Tsunami 1/0 power cable from the battery to the back. A 150 amp fuse was installed on an aluminum bracket to protect the car from any fires from a short circuit in the system.
Interior
The heart of the system is Alpine's IVA-C800 multimedia station. It was double stacked with an Alpine DVA-5205 DVD player with a polished aluminum trim. All the illumination of the audio components was changed to blue to match the factory gauges. Patel had a friend, Rinaldo Swayne, do the work (it took about 50 LED's to accomplish the task). The factory steering wheel controls were modified so Leeper could interface them with the Alpine deck's volume and track controls. When the transmission is in TipTronic mode you can also shift up and down with the steering controls. An Alpine PXA-H510 was used to give the system 11 bands of parametric equalization, Dolby Digital processing and time correction. The PXA-H510 display unit was installed in the overhead panel so it was visible and accessible from the front seats.
Rear Seat Entertainment
A pair of Accele Electronics LCD7R 7-inch widescreen monitors was installed in the head rests with a polished aluminum trim ring, which matches the interior trim. (One of the cool things about the VW headrest was that the two rods that hold them are hollow, so Leeper was able to route the wire out of sight.) A TVTNR4 TV Tuner from Accele was added for variety in rear seat entertainment. The TV tuner antennas are tucked away under the headliner so you cannot see them. The system was designed so that passengers in the back could listen to and watch something independent of any a/v signal being sent up front. To that end, a pair of wireless Accele Electronic headphones were also installed. Interior Speakers
The front stage is made up of a powerful set of Boston Acoustics Pro 6.53 3-way component systems. Custom kick panels were fabricated out of fiberglass to house a set of the Pro 4.5 mids and Neo5t tweeters. The finish consists of a textured black and polished aluminum rings to match the interior. To make the polished aluminum rings and speaker grills Steve Yiu from Sound Experience in Arizona was called in. A set of Pro 6.5 midbass drivers were mounted in the front doors with a thick MDF spacer and the speaker was mounted with T-nuts so they could be serviced easily. A layer of Tsunmai sound deadening material was used on the doors to prevent rattles and to improve midbass response. Leeper improved the soundstage and imaging with a pair of Neo3r Ambient tweeters, installed in the factory door locations. In the rear doors you'll find a set of Pro 6.5 2 way component speakers. The tweeter was mounted on the mid using the patented Boston Acoustics tweeter Axis mount and that also helped the front stage.
Trunk
Leeper's idea for the trunk was to mount everything in a balanced way between the left and right side of the car; this way the spare tire would still be accessible. A custom rack was welded together out of metal bars and secured to the rear deck. It houses the following equipment: an Alpine NVE-851A DVD navigation system, Alpine's MHA-S670 6-disc MD changer which was custom ordered from Japan, an Alpine CHA-S624 6-disc CD changer, and the custom made fuse block for the system. The rack was covered with a panel that was custom molded and color matched with the exterior of the vehicle with an accent of polished aluminum trim. Custom blue neon was mounted to illuminate the trunk.
New Sonic Power
The 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.