RE: VW's R brand: we're going for diesel and 4WD
Wednesday 23rd November 2011
Controversial rumblings from VW's 'R' brand bosses about the future shape of fast VWs: "The future is diesel and all-wheel-drive."
VW's R brand: we're going for diesel and 4WD
But don't worry; they're going for lightweight tech, too...
Controversial rumblings from VW's 'R' brand bosses about the future shape of fast VWs: "The future is diesel and all-wheel-drive."
These are the words of Ulrich Richter, R GmbH's executive director, speaking to US blog site Autoblog at the LA show.
This means (though this is taking an Olympic-standard long jump to draw such a conclusion) that we could well be seeing an oil-burning 'R' car (VW Golf GTD R, anyone?) before too long. Which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your prejudices/predelictions...
More universally encouraging news comes from R's assertion that low weight is more effective for economy than hybrid tech. "You can get the same efficiency [as a hybrid] by dropping 100 kilos," says Richter. Which, as much as it might be a statement of the bleedin' obvious to many, is also good news for those who like their fast VW's with a side-serving of agility, and not an extra lump of dead-weight battery.
Discussion
If only they can tune a diesel to be interesting in it's delivery.
All too often they are mid-range heavy and make say 90% or more of their peak power from 3000rpm onwards.
But at the same time, that is a core reason people like them, easy fast day to day, but then not so fun on a mini-hoon home.
Catch 22, it'll be interesting to see how they work around it!
Dave
All too often they are mid-range heavy and make say 90% or more of their peak power from 3000rpm onwards.
But at the same time, that is a core reason people like them, easy fast day to day, but then not so fun on a mini-hoon home.
Catch 22, it'll be interesting to see how they work around it!
Dave
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