Several years ago, Volkswagen showed up at the
annual Wörthersee expo
with what could only be described as a concept worthy of pants-wetting excitement
– at least, for hot hatch enthusiasts like me. What VW had done was shoehorn
its twin-turbocarged, 6.0-liter W12 engine behind a Golf GTI's front seats,
creating the GTI
W12 650 – a car that could hit 60 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds and
top out at a stunning 201 miles per hour. Of course, the thing never saw
production, but Volkswagen's tendency to build hilarious hot hatch concepts
hasn't stopped, many of which have also graced the Wörthersee show. And I've
been smitten every time.
It goes without saying, then, that I'm grinning from ear to ear while reading over the spec list for this Golf R 400 Concept that'll be unveiled this week. No, it doesn't have a crazy, twelve-cylinder engine, but it does use a modified version of the same 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four that powers the rest of the lovely GTI and Golf R range, mated to Volkswagen's tried-and-true, six-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Here, the 2.0T is tuned to produce 395 horsepower (or 400 PS, hence the name) and 332 pound-feet of torque, which means this all-wheel-drive concept can reportedly hit 62 miles per hour in just 3.9 seconds – only two-tenths of a second slower than the 6.0-liter W12 monster from 2007. God bless the modern turbo-fours.
Visually, the Golf R 400 looks like any hotter-hatch should, with a 20-millimeter lowered stance, unique 19-inch wheels, and some oddly cool, Lemon Yellow accents. Inside, that gray-and-yellow theme carries over, with awesome seats, Alcantara everywhere, and fine leather trim. It doesn't stray too far from the production Golf R's interior, and that's fine with me.
In fact, much of the Golf R 400 isn't too drastic of a departure from the already-awesome Golf R. And while Volkswagen says the 400 "reflects the sporty potential of the model series," it's got far more production potential than the W12 650 that made me giddy all those years ago. Fingers crossed, folks
source: VolkswagenIt goes without saying, then, that I'm grinning from ear to ear while reading over the spec list for this Golf R 400 Concept that'll be unveiled this week. No, it doesn't have a crazy, twelve-cylinder engine, but it does use a modified version of the same 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four that powers the rest of the lovely GTI and Golf R range, mated to Volkswagen's tried-and-true, six-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Here, the 2.0T is tuned to produce 395 horsepower (or 400 PS, hence the name) and 332 pound-feet of torque, which means this all-wheel-drive concept can reportedly hit 62 miles per hour in just 3.9 seconds – only two-tenths of a second slower than the 6.0-liter W12 monster from 2007. God bless the modern turbo-fours.
Visually, the Golf R 400 looks like any hotter-hatch should, with a 20-millimeter lowered stance, unique 19-inch wheels, and some oddly cool, Lemon Yellow accents. Inside, that gray-and-yellow theme carries over, with awesome seats, Alcantara everywhere, and fine leather trim. It doesn't stray too far from the production Golf R's interior, and that's fine with me.
In fact, much of the Golf R 400 isn't too drastic of a departure from the already-awesome Golf R. And while Volkswagen says the 400 "reflects the sporty potential of the model series," it's got far more production potential than the W12 650 that made me giddy all those years ago. Fingers crossed, folks
Autoblog
by Steven J. Ewing
http://www.boscheuropean.com
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