Now that the annual Wörthersee show is underway Volkswagen has released this short promo video of the 370kW V6 twin turbo Design Vision GTI. That’s nice and all, but we just want to see some real fair dinkum pics. Enough of the com-gen imagery.
[Thanks to Chris for the tip]
Here’s your extreme Golf GTI. It’s a bit more extreme than we were expecting too. So far we’ve only got a handful of sketches to go on, but look at that body work! To go with the out there exterior styling Volkswagen has given the ‘Design Vision GTI’ a massive 370kW punch. 370kW; that’s 500 horsepower!
The grunt for this race-ready GTI is provided by a 3.0 litre V6 TSI engine with twin turbochargers. Peak torque is 560Nm (4000–6000rpm) and with its DSG transmission and all-wheel drive system Volkswagen reckons the Frankenstein GTI will knock off 100km/h in 3.9 seconds. Top speed is predicted to be 300km/h.
Inside the 20″ rims you’ll find large ceramic brakes (380mm front, 356mm rear) and red-painted calipers to add some bling. The tyre package is extreme too, for a GTI, running 235/35/20s at the front and 275/30/20s at the rear. The wheels are based on the Austin alloys found on the new Mk7 GTI and have had their spokes designed to help discharge heat from the brakes.
The flexibility of Volkswagen’s MQB platform has afforded the design team the opportunity to shorter the car by 15mm, while increasing its width by 71mm. With that comes increases in the track (57mm front, 63mm rear).
All sounds pretty good so far, we can’t wait to see more.
I did.
But Volkswagen Australia saw fit to sit on their hands for a few years before they decided to bring the Scirocco down under. I’m not bitter about it though. Much.
Oh sorry, Volkswagen is celebrating the creation of its one millionth Scirocco by offering a special Scirocco Million model for sale. It comes in any colour you like so long as it’s Deep Black Metallic and it’s also fitted with an R-Line bodykit.
Galvanic Grey mirror caps help you spot the Scirocco Million in a crowd. That’s if you happened to miss the two stripes on the bonnet, roof and tailgate. It can be optioned with a choice of three lower spec engines, all with DSG if you choose. The leather interior is complemented by ‘Million’ badging and Snap Orange contrast stitching.
If you like the Scirocco you’ll probably appreciate what’s going on here.
Just don’t expect to see it in Australia, it’ll only be on sale in Germany and China.
A more extreme Mk7 Golf GTI, possibly a preview of a 40th anniversary model, is on its way to the annual Wörthersee show, Car reports. The special GTI to be revealed next week will be labelled as a concept model, but it’s expected it could give us the first look at the 2015 Edition 40 GTI.
While not a lot of detail has been given, Volkswagen’s R&D boss, Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, told Car that the new XDS+ “e-diff” in the new GTI is not at its maximum limit and can handle more power. Hackenberg also mentioned a carbon fibre roof could save 8–9kg over the regular body panel, hinting that this could find its way onto the concept model.
We can live in hope that Volkswagen may follow the path of the Audi TT ultra quattro and strip over 150kg of weight from the regular model. The 228kW engine would be nice too, although that may be more power than the XDS+ diff can handle.
The Wörthersee show kicks off in the middle of next week so we don’t have too long to wait for all to be revealed.
[Source: Car]
With the limited running of Sebastien Loeb for Citroën this year the big story in WRC has been the immediate success of the other Sebastien in the new Volkswagen Polo R WRC. In the four rallies to date this season Ogier has finished no worse than second, to Loeb in Monte Carlo, before stringing together a run of three rally wins in a row (Sweden, Mexico and Portugal).
It’s already been a stunning debut year for Volkswagen, with Citroën seemingly floundering without their all-time legend at the wheel. But what of Ogier’s teammate, Jari-Matti Latvala?
To be frank, he has struggled, especially in the first three events. Finally, in Portugal Latvala began to show his promise by finishing third and achieving his best result for the year.
Moving on to Rally Argentina, which is currently underway, Volkswagen will no doubt be pleased to see Latvala set the fastest time in qualifying, making sure the ground he gained in Portugal has not been lost.
Even better for Latvala, Argentina is one of the few races in which Sebastien Loeb will be donning his Citroën race suit, so not only has Latvala out qualified his teammate, who was third, but he’s beaten the world’s best ever rally driver in quali as well.
Latvala revealed the secret to his qualifying success lay in his previous experiences with Ford. “In Portugal the confidence started to come. I started to feel and understand how much I could push into the corner and how well it will stay on the ground,†he said Latvala.
“I was a little bit suffering with the braking in Portugal and I knew that coming here I had updates on the differentials to make them a bit more similar under braking to my previous car (Ford Fiesta RS).
“It gives me more confidence so that I can go deeper into the corners under braking and the wheels don’t lock so easily. This was the change we did here and in qualifying it felt good.â€
A promising start in South America for the 28-year-old Finn. Although, with SS1 already done and dusted Ogier leads the way, from Dani Sordo, Loeb and Latvala. With less than four seconds covering the top four let’s hope we’re in for an exciting rally all the way to the end.
[Source: wrc.com]
Volkswagen Australia has confirmed the new Golf VII is included in its Capped Price Service Program. The schedule applies to 2013 models onwards and covers six years or 90,000kms, whichever comes first. A table of costs can be seen after the break.
The new Porsche 911 GT3 is much faster than the new Volkswagen Golf GTI. No shit! But here’s the video to prove it. And doesn’t the new GT3 sound rather awesome. Actually, on upshift it doesn’t really sound like a normal double-clutch tranny either.
Anyway, these two cars, seen recently during Nürburgring industry testing, would happily sit inside the AUSmotive garage, shame only one of them is likely to do so.
[Source: Bridge to Gantry | Thanks to James for the tip]
Following the international press launch of the all-new Volkswagen Golf GTI comes a raft of new information and details about the company’s much loved hot hatch.
To recap, the new Mk7 Golf GTI is lighter, faster, more efficient and better equipped than any previous GTI. It comes in two specifications, the regular 162kW/350Nm model and the 169kW/350Nm Performance Pack.
The Performance Pack brings with it a few extra goodies to go with its modest power increase, most notably larger brakes and an XDS+ electronic differential lock. And it’s that electronically controlled mechanical diff that’s grabbing many of the headlines.
You’ll find all the detail you want about the new Golf GTI after the break, but in Volkswagen’s own words here’s some more detail on the XDS+ diff to get you started:
A newly engineered electronic front differential lock is being used exclusively in the Golf GTI Performance. To date, Volkswagen is the only carmaker to utilise an electronically controlled differential lock in a front-wheel drive production model. Compared to purely mechanical locks, the front differential lock integrated in the Golf GTI Performance offers advantages such as a variable degree of locking and comprehensive interfaces to the ESC, EDS and XDS+ functions. This makes it possible to completely avoid negative effects on steering response and steering precision that otherwise occur with mechanical locks.
Ever since Volkswagen reignited the Golf GTI flame with the Mk5 version back in 2004 they have made it harder for themselves to improve the next iteration. And yet, they did. The Mk6 was a modest improvement over the Mk5, but an improvement nonetheless. So how about the new Golf VII GTI, will it have what it takes to extend the legend of Volkswagen’s most iconic model?
It looks like it might. Here’s what the UK media has said about the new GTI following its recent launch in France:
Autocar (Steve Sutcliffe): It is a quite phenomenally well-resolved car to drive. And by that, I don’t just mean that it’s unusually secure or stable near the limit (even though it is exactly that). It’s also razor sharp, dynamically.
Auto Express (Mat Watson): We’d go as far as to say the Mk7 is the best GTI ever. We knew VW could make it faster and more comfortable, but there was always a question mark over the fun factor. Not any more.
(Video review available below.)
Top Gear (Jason Barlow): The dice haven’t rolled as far as they should have. It’s a fine car, and you will never regret choosing one. The new GTI, then. The hot hatch equivalent of a good accountant.
Not quite universal praise, then, but very close to it. And all waxed lyrical about the VAQ tricky diff available in the Performance Pack model. Can’t wait until later in the year when the Mk7 GTI hits our shores.
[Thanks to Paul for the tip]
Volkswagen Australia has just launched the new Golf VII to the local market. The new and improved seventh generation Golf is also the current World Car of the Year.
At launch the Golf VII will be available in four spec levels, starting with the 90TSI priced from $21,490 with a 6-speed manual. The Golf 90TSI Comfortline carries a list price of $24,990; add $2500 to both if you’d like a 7-speed DSG transmission.
The current top of the range is the Highline model, available with DSG only, the 103TSI (7-speed) costs $31,990 and the 110TDI (6-speed) starts from $34,490.
Power comes from a new EA211 1.4 litre turbocharged petrol engine, available with 90kW or 103kW, or a 110kW 2.0 litre EA288 diesel engine.
The new Golf is a bit lighter and a bit more fuel efficient than the old Mk6 model. And you can expect the Mk7 Golf to be just a little bit better all round compared with the previous-generation. The Golf is not really one to make a habit of taking giant leaps forward. When you consider the Mk6 Golf was a very good car in its own right, that’s no criticism either.
A host of new technology and specification has found its way on the Golf for the first time, including a panoramic glass sunroof option, fatigue detection, Adaptive Cruise C0ntrol, City Emergency Braking, Stop/Start and more.
Also now included across the entire Golf range for the first time is the XDL electronic differential lock, which was previously only available on the Golf GTI.
There’s more detail after the break and if you’re keen to see the new Golf in local showrooms make sure you arm yourself with the full detail available in the Australian press kit. At 70 pages it should keep you busy for some time.
With the industry pool returning to the Nürburgring this week Volkswagen’s Mk7 Golf R dropped by to wind its way around the famed 20.832km track.
Big front air intakes look set to remain and the centre-mount twin exhaust tips will make way for quad tips, with two on either side of the car.
Now that we’ve seen the specs for the Audi S3 we can probably make a well educated guess and state the new R will use the latest Haldex V all-wheel drive system and boast 221kW/380Nm or thereabouts. Although some reports suggest power may be clipped to 213kW.
[Source: Autoblog | Pic: CarPix]
Illness and mechanical gremlins could not stop the increasingly rapid Sebastien Ogier juggernaut from claiming victory at Rally Portugal last weekend.
The Volkswagen driver made it a threepeat of rally wins, adding to his success in Sweden and Mexico. And in a sign that things could be about to get worse for Volkswagen’s rivals Jari-Matti Latvala showed signs he is finally coming to grips with the Polo R WRC as well.
Ogier won the rally by almost a minute from Citroën’s Mikko Hirvonen. Latvala was third, his first podium for Volkswagen, and only a temporary issue with a broken driveshaft prevented him from contributing to the team’s first 1–2 result in the WRC.
Further images and detail from Volkswagen can be seen below.