Take our word for it; Austrians are not to be trifled with. Adolf Hitler, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the people who dreamt up the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen; they can all call themselves Austrians. It’s fitting then that once a year the Austrian city of Reifnitz hosts the Volkswagen Wörthersee event, a hardcore event where the wraps come off the most outlandish, eye-catching Volkswagens. This year’s Volkswagen Design Vision Golf GTI was the star of that show.
If the already mouth-watering bodywork wasn’t enough, the Design Vision GTI sports a simply outrageous 370 kW and 560 Nm of torque from its 3.0-litre twin-turbo VR6 engine. The concept car based on a Mk7 Golf GTI, will sprint to 100 km/h in just under four seconds, en route towards a 300 km/h top speed, with the aid of AWD and DSG of course.
Teased last week in a series of potent sketches, the Design Vision GTI concept looks no less threatening in the flesh courtesy of that widebody stance, carbon fibre adapted headlights, hugely aggressive front end and the rear bumper treatment which comes around to meet the carbon fibre side blades in an orgiastic muscularity that any Volkswagen GTI fan will love.
Specially designed 20-inch alloys sit at either end of the concept’s stretched tracks (+57mm front and +63mm rear). Rubber measuring 235/35 at the front and 275/30 at the rear wraps around the wheels, while ceramic discs spanning 380mm front and 356mm rear are gripped by red calipers.
The driver-focused interior is upholstered with carbon fibre, alcantara and nappa leather. The steering wheel features ‘Street’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Track’ modes, while the central computer includes a race function. The rear seat has been replaced by an X-shaped cross member that increases stiffness.
While it’s not expected that the exciting Design Vision GTI will actually make production any time soon, the car and the styling betrothed to it are supposed to showcase the performance potential of GTI and Volkswagen going forward. “We wanted to bring out the design elements of the GTI as concisely, dynamically and emotionally as we could so as to get to the heart of the fascination that this car emanates,” said VW design head Klaus Bischoff.
What we are most interested in is the VR6 petrol engine giving it a whopping 208 kW and 210 Nm of torque advantage over the 2.0-litre turbo of the current Golf GTI on which the concept is based. What are the chances of such an engine making it into production for the Volkswagen/Audi Group? We certainly hope this concept means there’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon.
