Tag: VW

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Volkswagen

Golf GTI wins another award – but what’s the point?

Golf V GTI

Volkswagen’s Mk5 Golf GTI is a bloody good car. I know this not only because the motoring world has barely stopped praising the car since its 2004 launch, but also because I have one in my garage. However, the GTI’s latest accolade, 2008 Drive Car of the Year (Best Performance Car Under $60,000), has to be the most irrelevant the car has ever won. Why? Go down to your local Volkswagen dealer and try to order a new GTI and see how far you get.

Sure, you can get a new Pirelli model, but with an extra 22kW, factory body kit and garish seats, that’s not the same car the Drive judges awarded. You could get lucky and find a dealer with a GTI in stock, but the factory has stopped making them, so ordering one to your specification is impossible.

The good news is the outgoing GTI can still hold it’s head high. Good for the dealer stock still remaining, and during the current financial doom and gloom, demand for the GTI in the used car market may hold firm. That said, while we’re waiting for the Mk6 Golf GTI, I just wish Drive was singing the praises of a new Volkswagen model…

…the Scirocco, for example.

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Volkswagen

Volkswagen Golf Plus gets accidental release

Volkswagen Golf Plus

The Golf Plus is a kind of cool part Tiguan-part Golf thing that isn’t available in Australia. The facelifted version, based on the revised MkVI, is due for release in a few days at the Bologna Motor Show. But, as is often the case, there has been a bit of a leak. Brochures for the new Golf Plus were put on the Volkswagen stand at the Essen Motor Show. Oops! And, with the magic of the internet now everyone has a copy. Follow the autoblog link below for more.

Along with the Scirocco, put this down as another model Volkswagen Australia should bring down under.

Source: autoblog

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Volkswagen

Volkswagen to introduce GT24 inspired Scirocco R20T

Volkswagen Scirocco

Word around the blogospehere is that Volkswagen has plans to introduce a GT24 inspired Scirocco R20T. The hot four cylinder engine would be sourced from the Audi S3, which, in Australian spec, produces 188kW. No word on 4motion, but with that power you would have to imagine all-wheel drive would be a handy feature.

The GT24 performed amazingly well on debut in this year’s Nürburgring 24 hour race, finishing their class in first and second (11th and 15th outright). The 300hp front wheel-drive racecars looked outstanding. CAR magazine from the UK claims most of the visual aggression of the racing version will translate to the road car. Oh mummy…

Now this is one car that Volkswagen Australia MUST bring down under!

Source: CAR via autoblog

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Volkswagen

Golf VI brochure and pricing (UK market)

Golf VI - UK brochure cover image

The new Golf VI has recently started Germany deliveries, with the UK expecting to get their hands on the Golf VI in January 2009. While nothing has been confirmed, Australian customers will probably need to wait until around the middle of 2009 for local release.

In the meantime, you can check the detail of the right-hand drive models by checking out the new brochure and pricing PDFs from Volkswagen UK (thanks to Craig for the tip).

Current driveaway pricing for the new UK range starts at £13,150 for the 1.4 litre 3-door Golf S, up to £20,980 for a Golf GT 2.0 TDI, with 6 speed DSG. The new 7 speed DSG transmission is available in the following models: Golf S 1.6 5-door; Golf S 1.4 TSI 5-door; Golf SE 5-door 1.4 TSI; and Golf GT 1.4 TSI 5-door.

PDF downloads
Golf VI – UK brochure (3.7mb)  |  Golf VI – UK pricing (300kb)

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Volkswagen

For sale: RHD VW Touareg W12

RHD Volkswagen Touareg W12

No AUSmotive isn’t turning into carsales, but when a one of a kind comes up for sale, well, you might want to know about it. This is the world’s only right-hand drive Touareg W12. Built by Volkswagen Individual as a test mule for a possible limited release to the Singapore market. Those plans have since been shelved and the car is up for sale to RHD markets the world over.

The Touareg W12 has been priced at €90,000 (inclusive of worldwide shipping). That’s around AU$175,000 on current exchange rates, plus the likely taxes once the car gets to Australia.

The Touareg W12 is currently available in some LHD markets and for your troubles you get a 12-cylinder ‘W’ engine that produces a tidy 331kW of power, with a none too shabby 599Nm of torque.

For more information and a full build sheet, contact OEMpl.us.

Source: VWvortex

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Volkswagen

Volkswagen ‘singing dog’ commercial wins online poll

Volkswagen UK’s ‘Polo confidence’ television commercial has been named ‘Car Ad of the Year’ by Autocar magazine. Also known as the ‘singing dog’ ad, the 30 second piece won a public vote conducted by Autocar online. The ad was created by DDB London and features a Jack Russell miming along to the Spencer Davis Group hit I’m a man. It’s pretty cool.

Source: Volkswagen via Automoto Portal

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Volkswagen

2009 Volkswagen Golf GTI at the Paris Motor Show

The Paris Motor Show was the official reveal for the MkVI Golf GTI Concept. Here’s a couple of short YouTube clips from CARandDRIVER.com (above) and Edmunds InsideLine (after the jump) filmed in Paris. There’s nothing really new in these clips, but it’s still good to get a closer look at what is shaping to be another great GTI from Volkswagen.

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Volkswagen

Exclusive: Volkswagen Passat CC – Australian pricing

Volkswagen Passat CC

The stunning Volkswagen Passat was revealed to Australian audiences today at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. The Passat CC (Comfort Coupé) will be launched in Australia early next year. It will be initially available with a 125kW 2.0 TDI and a 220kW V6 petrol engine (as seen in the Passat R36). Volkswagen’s media release from today is shown below, along with more images, but something AUSmotive can reveal, which is not shown in the media statement, is the list pricing for the two models. The front-wheel drive 2.0 TDI will start at $54,990 and the V6 4MOTION will be priced from $64,990. (Note: The V6 pricing may be affected now that the Luxury Car Tax has been passed.) Both models will come equipped with 6 speed DSG transmissions. There will be no manual option available.

The 4.8m long Passat CC will hit the market with an impressive list of standard features, such as heated leather seats (front and back), ESP, eight airbags, front and rear parking distance sensors and Adaptive Chassis Control.

With those looks, that pricing and a well appointed standard specification, expect the Passat CC to establish a niche for itself very quickly.

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Porsche Volkswagen

Porsche wants full control of Volkswagen before Christmas

Porsche & Volkswagen logosWell, before December actually. Porsche will hold present their annual results to the media on 26 November, and if they have their way between now and then they will have increased their stake in Volkswagen to an “absolute majority”.

This Sydney Morning Herald article explains a few of the hurdles Porsche still has to resolve before being able to fulfill their lofty ambitions. The major stumbling block is the Lower Saxony government’s blocking vote—despite only controlling 20.1 per cent of the stock. The European Commission is involved and back in July, when assessing any likely competition issues, they declared “Porsche will continue to face several strong, effective competitors”.

With just over 35 per cent of Volkswagen shares, Porsche already has effective control of the company, however formalising the majority shareholding is becoming more acrimonious by the day. Volkswagen objects to Porsche’s wish to gain access to Audi technology and is doing all it can to stand in the way of what is most probably an inevitable takeover.

Whatever happens, it is fascinating viewing and considering the possible permutations of technology and platform sharing certainly whets the appetite.

Source: Reuters, autoblog & SMH

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Random wallpapers Top Gear Volkswagen

Top Gear tea break – MkV Golf GTI redux

With all the talk of the new MkVI Golf GTI, I thought it might be time to remind Volkswagen what the new model has to live up. With thanks, of course, to Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear (Series 5, Episode 6).

See below for a Random wallpaper surprise.

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Volkswagen

2009 MkVI Golf GTI image gallery

2009 Volkswagen MkVI Golf GTI

Fourteen photographs of the 2009 Volkswagen Golf GTI—click on each pic to load wallpaper sized 2000x1320px super images.

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Volkswagen

Details of next Golf GTI emerge

MkVI Golf GTI

Details of Volkswagen’s MkVI Golf GTI have been revealed on the autocar.co.uk website.

Like the regular Golf VI range the new GTI has taken an evolutionary approach with a minor reworking of the front grille treatment being the largest immediate difference compared to the previous MkV iteration. The all new body kit is entirely different, with a more appropriate use of color coding all round. “The effect is to visually widen the GTI to make it look much more aggressive and sporty,” said exterior design chief Mark Lichte.

There is a single exhaust tip at each edge on the rear and the interior keeps the flat bottomed steering wheel treatment.

Official details of the MkVI GTI will be released at next week’s Paris Motor Show, but it is believed the base GTI will be powered by the same engine used in the Edition 30 models (approx 160kW). An all wheel drive GTI-R model with around 200kW is also expected to be revealed at some stage in the future, this will replace the hole left by the demise of the VR6 powered R32.

More images can be seen after the jump and stay tuned to AUSmotive for higher resolution pics as they become available.

*update* More pics can be seen at evo.co.uk, of note is the interior image where it looks like the speedometer now only indicates up to 260km/h (MkV GTI was 300km/h) and the dash illumination is more Audi like with white dials and red needles, so it appears the familiar Volkswagen blue-lit dials have been scrapped.

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