RE: Volkswagen Golf R 400

RE: Volkswagen Golf R 400

Tuesday 22nd April 2014

Volkswagen Golf R 400

UPDATE: Official pics of VW's 400hp Golf R 400 following Beijing unveiling



UPDATE: Since our initial story last week Volkswagen has released official pictures of the Golf R 400, including 'live' photos from the unveiling at the Beijing show and more detailed computer renderings of the exterior and interior.

DSG or manual? Even VW seems unsure
DSG or manual? Even VW seems unsure
What more do we know? Well, for a 400hp Golf it actually looks pretty restrained, flared (not box) arches apparently referencing the G60 Rallye Golfs of old, twin exhausts the V6 R32s and additional carbon flourishes and vents on the bumpers setting it apart from other hot Golfs. That and the new yellow trim elements.

Inside are some tidy looking seats and a slightly confusing gear lever. Confusing? Well all the VW material says the R 400 has a DSG gearbox but the one in the photos has a clear H-pattern manual design. We'd bet on the DSG being the reality, assuming the car makes production. Which we rather hope it does...


Still feeling the need for a stupidly powerful four-wheel drive car with daily practicality but not taken with the reborn Subaru WRX STI or Mercedes A45 AMG? Looks like VW of all people is kicking off a power war among the emergent 'mega hatch' crowd with news of a Golf R 400. There's a clue to the most significant number on the spec sheet in that name - yes, it really is a 400hp, four-wheel drive Golf for those whose pulse can't be sufficiently raised by the 300hp Golf R.

400hp in a Golf? They're saying it's just a concept...
400hp in a Golf? They're saying it's just a concept...
VW doesn't do mad very often so when someone does slip something into the water cooler at Wolfsburg the results can be rather shocking. OK, so this is officially a concept but it's more plausible than the 650hp W12-engined special of 2007. And the box-arched Golf Rallye referenced in the press release as inspiration was actually built and sold. And driven by our very own Riggers not so long ago.

You don't need to be a mathematical genius to figure out that 400hp from a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine is both impressive and equates to a fairly mighty 200hp per litre. Torque is 332lb ft, up from 280lb ft in the R. And we thought AMG's 180hp per litre in the A45 was impressive... Suitably engorged it'll hit 62mph in a claimed 3.9 seconds, a whole second faster than the R, and go on to 175mph. Which is quite a lot for a Golf.

200hp per litre in a family hatch? Yikes.
200hp per litre in a family hatch? Yikes.
Like the Golf R (we've got it booked in and will report back on it shortly...) the R 400 runs Haldex-5 four-wheel drive and is, to all intents and purposes, an evolution of that car. Ah yes, the 'evo' word - is this the much promised but thus far unseen 'Golf Evo' talked about earlier in the year? Looks that way, VW choosing the Beijing show rather than the anticipated Geneva to unveil the car.

Though it runs the same suspension and tyres as the Golf R there are more dramatic visual flourishes to set it apart, including box arches flared by 20mm to accommodate different wheel offsets, twin centre-mounted pipes a la Golf R32, carbon (fake) outside and (real) inside and a new 'Lemon Yellow' trim line in the grille. This helps colour code the various hot Golfs, red being GTI, blue for GTD and chrome for the R.

For now VW is saying the R 400 is just a show car, that statement delivered with a wink suggesting there might be something more production ready in the pipeline. Fingers crossed and the ball's in your court AMG...


VW anorak? Geek out on the full Golf R 400 press release in its unedited glory here!









Author
Discussion

Kenny Powers

Original Poster:

2,618 posts

126 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
Could be a very special car. I hope they do produce a few production units. Limited run of course.

Cue half a dozen pages of people moaning that it's boring and the Haldex will understeer you into a hedge. Oh and of course the standard "£??k for a Golf?!"

goron59

397 posts

170 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
Everyone knows what a Golf looks like, so why the silly pictures that make it look like an elephant sat on it?

Anyways, kudos for the 200bhp/litre. Should be good for top trumps and might spur on some more madness from the others.

rtz62

3,340 posts

154 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
I'm amazed that in this day and age that manufacturers still churn out ridiculous drawings of proposed cars, that look like a 16 year old with an automotive hard-on drew them.
I find that (on my iPad) if I turn the screen on a horizontal axis about 45+ degrees from my viewing point (in other words, hold the iPad in front of me, then push the left hand edge away from me until it is approx 45 degrees back) the car looks, well, more like a normal Golf.
Voilà!

soxboy

6,060 posts

218 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
Sorry to be pedantic but those arches in the images aren't box arches.

Box arches are as featured on E30 M3, Quattro, Integrale and Nova 3dr.

loose cannon

6,029 posts

240 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
Yours for £49,999

dukebox9reg

1,570 posts

147 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
Kenny Powers said:
Could be a very special car. I hope they do produce a few production units. Limited run of course.

Cue half a dozen pages of people moaning that it's boring and the Haldex will understeer you into a hedge. Oh and of course the standard "£??k for a Golf?!"
Well after watching the autoexpress video comparison of the R vs the Leon Cupra it did look to understeer like buggery even more so than the Leon in the majority of the corners.

Obviously thats on a track and on roads the R will undoubtedly be faster than the Leon but the Leon was nearly a full second quicker on that test.

EricE

1,945 posts

128 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
The new Golf R already looks surprisingly "over the top" in the flesh when I saw it. I can’t imagine what this will look like.

Still an interesting car to watch as for all intents and purposes this might be the very last high performance, non-hybrid model of the Golf. Ticks many collector car/low depreciation boxes except well, it is still a Golf after all.

Petrol_fumes

219 posts

210 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
Don't care what anyone says.

I'm buying one if they release it. LOVE IT

Dr Interceptor

7,743 posts

195 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
I have a new 2014 GolfR, and it's absolutely mental. This will be completely off the scale!

Love it biggrin

JsyM3

98 posts

136 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
Why state that the exterior carbon fibre is fake already - It's a concept, let it have "real" carbon fibre and then disappoint us later on by skimping and using the fake stuff.
It's not like I believe the majority of this will come to fruition anyway!

(If it does come good, I'll have one but will be insisting on all badge delete options)

dukebox9reg

1,570 posts

147 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
EricE said:
The new Golf R already looks surprisingly "over the top" in the flesh when I saw it. I can’t imagine what this will look like.

Still an interesting car to watch as for all intents and purposes this might be the very last high performance, non-hybrid model of the Golf. Ticks many collector car/low depreciation boxes except well, it is still a Golf after all.
Thats the opposite view I take I think compared to the R32's they come across very understated especially in 5dr.

Freakuk

3,105 posts

150 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
I'd have one if they were produced as shown, but it'll be mega £££ as ever.

Dave Hedgehog

14,541 posts

203 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
very tempting car, defiantly my sort of thing, will have to hear one first thou, hopefully it wont sound as bad as the R golf (and need a speaker)

Kawasicki

13,041 posts

234 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
soxboy said:
Sorry to be pedantic but those arches in the images aren't box arches.

Box arches are as featured on E30 M3, Quattro, Integrale and Nova 3dr.
I was just going to write the same.

k-ink

9,070 posts

178 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
The power delivery will be ridiculously uncomfortable like an on / off switch from a little 2 litre. No thanks! Bung a V8 in there. Or at the very least a supercharged V6.

acespizee

112 posts

150 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
k-ink said:
The power delivery will be ridiculously uncomfortable like an on / off switch from a little 2 litre. No thanks! Bung a V8 in there. Or at the very least a supercharged V6.
Wrong. Have u driven a tuned Tfsi engine car ??

Very smooth, and a wide band of power coming on at 2k rpm and going hard from 3k rpm till cut-out.

I have driven quite a few now.

400 on the TFSI/TSI is no great news. That its coming out the box with it is.

No heavier engine needed.

Dr Interceptor

7,743 posts

195 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
k-ink said:
The power delivery will be ridiculously uncomfortable like an on / off switch from a little 2 litre. No thanks! Bung a V8 in there. Or at the very least a supercharged V6.
I am afraid you are wrong... and I love V8's biggrin

Power delivery in my 300hp model is very smooth, not on/off at all, and I've driven several MK6 R's which have been tuned to 350-360hp, and they were equally as smooth.



J4CKO

41,287 posts

199 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
Isn't a flat looking Golf like that a Scirocco ?

marctwo

3,666 posts

259 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
Sounds like it's the VW version of this


Dave Hedgehog

14,541 posts

203 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
marctwo said:
Sounds like it's the VW version of this

now that i will buy, sod the sound i will drop it off at milltech smile