A car does not necessarily define a man, but a man most certainly defines a car. In the case of AJ Pena and his mk6 GLI, the car is simple and classy, much like the owner.

In 2006 when AJ joined the Volkswagen scene, he got his hands on his parent’s Mocha Brown B6 Passat. After a couple of minor mods, he soon picked up a Black Magic Pearl mk5 GTI for himself … a car that you may have ended up seeing once or twice on the internet over the years. He put the car through its paces including, a 3000+ mile roundtrip to H20 from Texas and the 1800 mile roundtrip to SoWo 3 years in a row. After countless different stages of modifying; multiple suspension setups from a basic cup kit to Mason Tech air struts and even more sets of wheels, ranging from OEM replicas to CCW Classics, he decided to part out the GTI and pick up a Tornado Red mk6 GLI. 

The fresh GLI was dropped off at Dorbritz Designs, with paper tags and less than 900 miles on the car, to receive Drew’s proper touch. The car found a new height thanks to some Airlift struts, to replace the older Mason Techs. He swapped in a Hybrid grill and had Drew make a custom one-off Golf lower grill to replace the stock honey comb. His brushed gold CCWs were swapped over to the new car and dialed in perfectly with the help of a little camber.

Even though he got the ball rolling fast with the new car, AJ has simple plans for the future. He has added some pep to the 2.0T with an APR flash, but would like to upgrade to a K04. Besides rebuilding his front wheels wider and having Dorbritz work his magic on the airride setup in the trunk, he wants to take it slow.

It was sad to see the mk5 go, as I have many fond memories in it from the road trips we’ve made to shows over the past years. Some of my greatest times were during those countless hours rolling across the country and cooped up in the GTI with my friends. However, I am glad to see AJ in a new platform and already upping the bar for all the others with his undeniable ability to tastefully mod and kill the competition.

Although, AJ may be known for his taste in modifying cars, his hospitality and personality go way beyond. It is not  uncommon for him to open up his house to others for garage days or fight nights. He is always willing to lend a hand, however he can. 

• Words & Shots: Jason Priest

The 2013 Dallas Auto Show, held at the Dallas Convention Center since 1982, is one of the most anticipated annual events for the DFW Metroplex.The Show ran March 13th-17th, and is the ideal opportunity for consumers to compare styling and pricing on every major line Make displayed under one roof with over half a million square feet of the best for 2013. We sent our staff photographer Jason Priest down to checkout the new VAG eyecandy. Needless to say, VW and Audi are not slacking on it’s consumers this year.

• Words: Justin-Gawain Allen
• Shots: Jason Priest

• Words: Justin-Gawain Allen
• Shots: Nick Williams

In this modern day and age, , the Volkswagen Audi Groupe (VAG) community  still has debate on the use of air suspensions, or keeping builds static. Some consider air to be cheating, and even think you lose “scene cred”. But, many use air suspension to get their car completely on the ground, and to achieve a stance that is impossible to reach with merely coil-overs.  Either way, if you fancy yourself a VAG enthusiast, there is one name you should know by now, Drew Dorbritz. If his name does not ring a bell, or you have not  seen Drew’s builds then you must be living under a rock.

I first met Drew, in 2007, when I moved from the East Coast  to Fort Worth, Texas. After moving, I quickly had to find the local VAG scene to get my Volkswagen (VW) fix. So, I found DFDUBS.org, a Dallas/Fort-Worth based VW/Audi club and forum.  It was at one of DFDUBS car meets when I met a tall, thin guy with a soul-patch, Drew.  Upon first impressions, he seemed very quiet, and laid back.  We hit it off immediately, and chatted for a while about my mk4 GTI. . Drew informed me that he had done various work on cars over the years and offered to help me out anytime.  From that chance meeting a solid friendship was born. 

It was not  long after that, that Drew made the decision to try his hand at a side business doing small to moderate jobs for the local VAG community.. What started out as him doing favors, quickly escalated into an entity that needed ground rules and structure; thus Dorbritz Designs was created. The next few seasons proved to be very exciting times for Drew professionally. He decided to get away from the leisurely, part-time hours and focused full-time on, Dorbritz Designs. 

Over the next couple years, Drew stuck to his game plan of growing his business by consistently cranking out top notch work and builds, from the small shop out of his home in Allen, Texas. One of the first neck breaking builds he did was his own B6 Passat wagon. This Passat was one of the first heavily modded out “grocery-getters” and blew everyone’s mind with the use of air suspension to achieve the stance he wanted. Air suspension had been used for many years in the off-roading and 4X4 scenes to lift their vehicles for fitment of larger tires or for a better ride comfort. But, using an air set-up to get a vehicle lower to the ground, now, that was almost unheard of. Regardless, the VAG scene took notice of Drew and his amazingly creative eye for detail. Eurotuner Magazine quickly recognized the new direction in suspension work and did a full feature on Drew and his B6 Passat. There is no question that most of these “dumped” rides  owe some homage to Mr. Dorbritz innovative thinking that completely changed ALL car scenes. 

 In 2010 while dropping by Dorbritz Designs, Drew wanted to show me some of the current builds he had been working on. About that time a very sleepy-eyed guy walks into the office and says good morning. Drew introduces us and explains that he is a customer from Houston that had contacted him and came up to have Drew do a full custom air install on his mk5 GTI. I was completely blown away by the hospitality of the Dorbritz! How many shops do you know that would go to those lengths to make a build happen? The motto “personal service” does not even begin to describe the experience and lengths Drew is willing to go for his customers. You know someone is serious about their livelihood when they are opening their home up to customers. 

Drew’s talents are quite vast in regards to the different types of work he offers; Air/static suspensions, audio, body mods, fabrication are just a few, but you can also add design to that list. With his experience with bag installs, Drew devised his own air bag bracket design.  His D-Cups® will get you the right amount of drop you are seeking and you will not  have to do any cutting. All D-CUP® kits are built in house with good ole’ American materials. He has created several ingenious molded management controller solutions,  one-off custom badge less front grills and valances. Drew is definitely not afraid to take a creative risk. 

 By 2012, the business had grown so much that it was time for Dorbritz Designs to move out of Drew’s home and into a separate structure. Thus the Dorbritz Designs Kustom Shoppe was established. The “Kustom” portion of the name pays homage to the Kustom car world of the 40’s and 50’s.  The “Shoppe” part is a reference to Drew’s first job working at a surf and skate shop called Shannon’s Sun Shoppe. Drew has always kept the  game plan simple.  He did not want to take out loans or find a financial investor. Instead, he consistently re-invested the money made. This allowed him to take that big step without  going into debt or having to report a loss for the first year. It was this very approach that has allowed him to expand and keep prices down for his products and services.

Presently,  Drew has a lot of exciting adventures planned for Dorbritz Designs such as; stocking various aftermarket parts in house  and personally designed products.. Here at Watercooled Society (WCS), we are big fans of Drew’s work. He will have complete artistic control on WCS’s MkI Jetta Project. WCS is eager to see the future of Dorbritz Designs unfold.  

• Words: Justin-Gawain Allen
• Shots: Jason Priest