There was a lot of talk about VW’s plans for the
Golf GTI
yesterday, as news surfaced that the company intends to unveil a Golf concept that’ll preview a “future version” of the GTI. VW’s research and development chief Dr Ulrich Hackenberg sparked the discussion when he disclosed to Car that the concept would make its debut at the Worthersee show in a couple of weeks, prompting speculation about what form it will take.
Old Edition 35... spot the difference
Current thinking suggests that the most likely option is some sort of Edition 40 variant, celebrating the debut of the
Mk1 GTI
at the Frankfurt show in 1975, and in the vein of the previous
Edition 30
Edition 35
models. Such a version would boast more power, a fact that Dr Hackenberg seemed to confirm by adding that VW’s new
VAQ
differential has additional capacity over the current Performance Pack-equipped car’s 230hp; somewhere between 250 and 260hp, in fact, is its limit in current form.
Certainly, some critics of the new GTI reckon a slug of extra power wouldn’t do the car any harm. Most of its main rivals – among them the Focus ST, Megane 265 and Astra VXR – can already boast higher power figures, especially than the standard, 220hp car. In the pub bragging stakes, the GTI is losing out. And if Volkswagen could tie an increase in power to some of the rather neat weight-saving measures Audi will be showing off just next-door – there was already talk at one time of a carbon-fibre roof for the Mk7 GTI – then we could just be looking at a pretty handy bit of kit. An R26.R-style GTI might seem a little far-fetched, but the talk of weight loss does make that a tantalising comparison to draw. Of course, there’s also the question of the Mk7 Golf R – could this be it, or will the R get even more power next time round? And whichever form it takes, will this new model help revive the flagging sales of the GTI in Britain, or instead dilute the model further?
Polo WRC Street bodes well
Tough questions that, we hope, the coming weeks will answer; this year's Worthersee is already gearing up, with the main show set to take place on May 17-19. All of this assumes, of course, that VW is readying something production-ready or – as is sometimes the way with Worthersee – instead going for an attention-grabbing concept with mad bodywork and daft wheels. Happily,
precedent
would suggest the former. And the fact that VW and Audi, and other manufacturers too, are starting to use Worthersee to launch some of their more extreme concepts shows the estimation in which the show is held these days. It’s often considered Europe’s largest tuning and modified car show, and the chilled-out, festival vibe has seen it grow enormously popular. Clearly, manufacturers are sitting up and taking note of the fact that this might be a handy place to reveal their wares. Which made us wonder whether any PHers have been along - if you have, we'd love to hear about it, so do comment below and share your experiences!