Volkswagen at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014

Volkswagen is gearing up to join thousands of automotive fans at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed on 26-29 June. The Festival, dubbed the ‘largest motoring garden party in the world’ is a unique weekend that brings together cars, stars and motor sport ‘royalty’ to create a celebration of all things automotive. It is held in the grounds of Goodwood House, Sussex, and includes a famous hillclimb event up the drive of the house.

This year, Volkswagen UK’s stand will provide a great opportunity for fans to engage with the brand, from the latest innovations to some exciting performance models, as well as some fantastic merchandise. 

One of the biggest attractions on the stand in expected to be the radical GTI Roadster concept, which is making its UK debut, fresh from its appearance at the annual gathering of GTI fans on the shores of Woerthersee in Austria last month. Originally created as a virtual car, to feature in the Sony PlayStation^® 3 classic Gran Turismo 6 (GT6), and now created as a real car, the two-seat GTI Roadster uses a 3.0-litre V6 biturbo TSI engine that produces 503 PS, and 560 Nm. With a seven-speed DSG gearbox and 4MOTION four-wheel drive, it hits 62 mph from rest in just 3.6 seconds, and goes on to 190 mph. 

Visitors to the Festival of Speed will get to experience that acceleration first-hand, as Volkswagen is inviting them not just to take a ride in the GTI Roadster, but to drive it up the famous Goodwood hill climb. Of course it’s all in the virtual world of GT6, which includes a detailed recreation of the Goodwood course, thanks to three gaming pods that will be on the stand. There’s also a draw every day to win a Sony PlayStation^® 3 and a copy of GT6.

Five other Volkswagens will also be on the stand. The revised Touareg luxury SUV will be making its UK debut, in stylish R-Line form, and this will also be one of the first opportunities for the UK public to see the forthcoming new Golf GTE – Volkswagen’s first performance plug-in hybrid. The GTE combines the outstanding practicality of the regular Golf hatchback, but with 204 PS combined from its turbocharged petrol engine and electric motor – and the ability to travel over 30 miles on batteries alone – it combines a zero to 62 mph time of 7.6 seconds and a top speed of 137 mph with a CO₂ figure of 35 g/km and a combined fuel figure of 188 mpg. 

Rally fans will be delighted with the Volkswagen Polo WRC car. This four-wheel drive turbocharged machine won last year’s manufacturer’s title at the first attempt, and is competing once again in this year’s championship.

For those wanting a turbocharged four-wheel drive model that’s available to buy now, there’s the powerful Golf R. With a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine producing 300 PS matched to 4MOTION four-wheel drive, the DSG-equipped Golf R can accelerate from zero to 62 mph in 4.9 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.

Finally, the innovative, ultra-frugal XL1 will once again be both on the Volkswagen stand and making its way up the hill. The XL1 is the world’s most energy-efficient production vehicle, with a combined fuel consumption figure of 313 mpg and CO₂ emissions of 21 g/km. 

VW reveals 503PS Worthersee GTi Concept roadster.

Volkswagen is turning the virtual world into reality this weekend, as it presents the GTI Roadster concept at the famous Woerthersee GTI meeting in Austria. 

The GTI Roadster was originally created as a purely electronic car, to feature in the Sony PlayStation^® 3 classic, Gran Turismo 6 (GT6).  The result of cooperation between Volkswagen and Sony Computer Entertainment, the GTI Roadster is the work of three young Volkswagen designers, winners of an in-house competition to design a vehicle to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of the Gran Turismo game.

Unconstrained by the constraints of production models – for example feasibility and price – designers Malte Hammerbeck, Domen Rucigaj and Guillermo Mignot came up with a winning design that was selected by Klaus Bischoff, Head of Design for the Volkswagen Brand, and Kazunori Yamauchi of Sony Computer Entertainment, the creator of the Gran Turismo series.

The virtual car was unveiled on 26 May, and just days later, Volkswagen is presenting it made real, at the annual gathering of GTI fans on the shores of Woerthersee, which runs from 18-31 May.

The GTI Roadster draws on last year’s Woerthersee car, the Design Vision GTI, but with an even more extreme design.  Its 2,494 mm wheelbase is 137 mm shorter than that of the production Golf GTI, and also shorter than the wheelbase of the Design Vision GTI.  The GTI Roadster’s minimal height (1,090 mm) and extreme width (1,894 mm) versus its overall length (4,158 mm) help create jaw-dropping proportions.

Power for the two-seat GTI Roadster comes from a 3.0-litre V6 biturbo TSI engine that produces 503 PS, and maximum torque of 560 Nm between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm.  Some 500 Nm of torque is available from just 2,000 rpm.  Power is delivered via a seven-speed DSG gearbox and 4MOTION four-wheel drive, helping to propel the 1,420 kg GTI Roadster from zero to 62 mph in just 3.6 seconds, and on to a top speed of 190 mph.  Stopping power is suitably prodigious, thanks to ceramic brakes that nestle behind 8.5 J x 20-inch wheels with 235/35 tyres at the front and 9.5 J x 20-inch wheels with 275/30 tyres at the rear.

The exterior of the car is painted a new colour, called Gran Turismo Red, which is designed to make the GTI Roadster look fast, even when it is standing still.  The interior features black- and anthracite-coloured sections, contrasted by classic GTI red on the stitching and also on the five-point safety harnesses.

While there are no plans for production, players of GT6 will be able to download the virtual GTI Roadster from mid-June.