It's Worthersee time once again, and that can only mean one thing: concept Golfs. This year apprentices from Wolfsburg and Zwickau presented not one but two designs, based on the Golf GTI and R respectively, to showcase their individual take on the future of the both models.
The Wolfsburg car, dubbed the Aurora1, is a 380hp GTI with a 7-speed direct shift gearbox. Finished in Nardo Gray and Deep Black Pearl Effect paint with unique Mint Green accents, it also features a bodykit with hand-painted details. As you may expect of a car designed almost entirely by millennials, the Aurora doesn't skimp on tech. Additional displays have been mounted in the centre console to communicate engine and vehicle data, information which is also relayed to the passenger via a tablet, that can also be used to control the 3,500 watt sound system.
But that's not all. In a world-first the concept also sports a boot-mounted holographic module, a technology which Volkswagen Group Components claims to have been honing for months. The 'intuitively operable hologram' does not require any kind of 3D glasses, and features floating controls which can be used to operate the sound system. It represents a "whole new user experience", says Thomas Schmall, Chairman of Volkswagen Group Components - and we're inclined to agree.
"By taking part in the Golf GTI Wörthersee project, our apprentices gain wide-ranging and indeed interdisciplinary technical experience for their later careers," says Christoph Görtz Director of Vocational Training. "The integration of complex digital applications in the vehicle is of utmost importance, as are keeping to a schedule and maintaining quality standards, coordinating with the specialists involved, presenting their results and finding creative solutions to technical challenges."
The second car is the product of Volkswagen Saxony's Zwickau, Chemnitz and Dresden apprentices. It comes in the shape of a Golf R wagon, uprated to 400hp and christened the FighteR. It's 6cm wider than standard thanks to a flared bodykit, which will aid stability when the concept takes on the duties of a safety car the Sachsenring.
To that end it features a rooftop light system and strobe lights mounted in the front grill. A Crystal Silver and Nardo Gray paint job with Misano Red and Piano Black features completes the purposeful look and, while there are no fancy holograms onboard, the FighteR also sports a roof-mounted 360° camera, footage from which can be viewed on the car's integrated VR glasses. Inside, a full leather interior extends all the way from the bucket seats to the luggage compartment, adorned with red decorative stitching and Alcantara inlays. Not to be left out, the R also boasts a custom-built sound system.
So, a functional safety car and a tech-laden showpiece for this year's Worthersee, both with their own merits we're sure. As for when we'll see hologram-equipped GTIs or 400hp Golf Rs in showrooms... well, one seems decidedly closer than the other.
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