depends on how you lean on the 2.0. forced induction wise, the shortblock is solid as they come. over 500whp has been put to an oem block. the head, although better than old 8v heads, still lack. hence why swapping to the 16v head is the ticket. yet a stock counterflow 8v head is good to 350whp range before you need to get in and start doing port work. numerous cars have been powered by junkyard 2.0’s w/ nothing done to them–just turbo and efi system slapped to them and let looose. 2 of my friends were in the low 11’s high 10’s w/ the engines. not bad for a $125 used engine w/ a days worth of dremeling the ports.
granted, the vr6 bottom end is just as beefy. but used engines still bring 600 range.
either way, you will be fucked because 200 whp in a 4 banger vw will blow out stock trannys. so you will need to attend to the differential. Once the diff is done, you should be solid for your goals. vr6 has the advantage using an 02a cable shft, but those are weak too w/ the shafts flexing on high hp cars. hence why they make a 5th gear delete w/ a lock collar for drag racing use. even thenm, i hear of alot fo 3rd and 4th gears going down.
clutch wise on a 2.0–the biggest thing is the pressure plate. beef up the straps. instead of stock 1 strap, modify it to have 3 straps. you can run sachs clutch disk, and it will last provided your not riding it.
in all, biggest pita is engine management.obd1 cars–be it vr6 or 2.0, you can modify the ecu to compensate for boost. obd2 is where you get f’d. I have still not seen a single company’s chip that works as promised w/ any 4 banger vw setup. they all have their faults. glad i neevr personally went through the chip nightmare.