Volkswagen is going all-out for the Golf GTI’s 50th birthday celebrations, but it’s not just the production hatchback which revolutionised the hot hatch market which is in the spotlight.
In 2007, Volkswagen did the unthinkable with the then-current Mk5 Golf GTI by completely reworking the three-door hatchback, turning it into a mid-engined concept car with supercar-rivalling power.
That concept was the Golf GTI W12-650, built for the Volkswagen celebration festival at Wörthersee, and later featured on Top Gear in a track test segment with Jeremy Clarkson.
Powered by a twin-turbo W12 engine from a Bentley Continental GT mounted behind the driver, it gained the rear axle and brakes from a Lamborghini Gallardo, the front brakes from an Audi RS 4, and the gearbox of a Volkswagen Phaeton.
Even today, the Golf GTI W12-650’s performance credentials remain incredible, with its engine producing 478kW, enough to complete the 0-100km/h sprint in under four seconds, while a top speed of more than 320km/h was also achieved.
To accommodate these changes, the Mk5 Golf GT’s body was widened by 160mm, while it also sat much lower while riding on wider versions of the five-slot ‘Detroit’ wheels found on the standard hatchback.
At the time, the concept car was finished in white, allowing it to highlight the GTI’s red grille ‘lipstick’ – however 19 years on, it has been resurrected in a period-correct Tornado Red finish.
View this post on Instagram
Its revival comes at a pivotal time for Volkswagen, as the Golf is set to go electric in the next few years, with an entirely new generation Mk9 model to be built on the upcoming Scalable Systems Platform (SSP).
Despite previous information indicating the petrol-powered Golf would be replaced at the same time, Sebastian Willmann, the current head of chassis development and driving dynamics for Volkswagen, last month simply answered “no” when asked by Auto Express if the Mk8.5 Golf GTI would be the last iteration of the performance icon with a petrol engine.
“In Volkswagen we must deliver on all aspects. We need efficient cars, we need performance cars – like the Golf R or the GTI – and we need some cheaper cars and cars which are positioned higher. The big volume [segment] is profiting from all these aspects – like the Golf always did.”
Discussion about this post