Now that the dust has settled and I no longer want to set fire to my car, a plan is starting to hatch. I went out in Rob Bingham's modified S3 and was so impressed with the torque and general 'pace' of the car that it has given me some confidence in the 1.8t powerplant.
I will be getting a new cambelt, waterpump and all of the pulleys in the next few days, and after that I'll be researching the easiest way of getting power over 200hp. So far that looks easy with a remap courtesy of Dr Hayward at APT, as long as this sodding boost leak gets dealt with. After that, who knows..........maybe a better exhaust or maybe some suspension tweaks.
One thing that has just dawned on me is the front end and why I am no fan of it; it's the same as the bloody Toledo!!!

Fuck me, what was I thinking!! Gash wheels, silly ride height, red kind of orange, kind of pink and a sodding Toledo front end
Matt paint, 40mm lower, louder, hole cutters, vents, cable ties and more boost. Done.