We know the next-generation Golf will debut at the Paris Motor Show, starting in September this year. We know it will be built on the MQB platform.
But we don’t really know what it will look like. Well, except that it will be a familiar progression in line with the last 38 years of Golf history. That means we have to make do with guesswork and renderings.
This latest work is from Auto Evolution. It’s not brilliant, by any means, but certainly helps pass the time.
[Source: Auto Evolution]
Current Ford WRC driver Jari-Matti Latvala could be driving for Volkswagen in 2013. Latvala’s manager, Timo Jouhki, confirmed meeting with Volkswagen saying: “I had a positive meeting with Kris Nissen and Carlos Sainz, who seem to have a good team with the right people and really interesting technical details on the car.”
The 27-year-old Finn has over 100 WRC starts and six wins to his name, including this year’s Rally Sweden, and his added experience would complement Sebastien Ogier well at Volkswagen you would think.
Jouhki also confirmed discussions are ongoing with Ford so there may be no movement at all. However, with Ford’s involvement in the WRC not certain beyond this year it’s probably wise for Latvala to consider all options.
[Source: World Rally Blog | Pic: Ford WRT]
The nifty little Volkswagen up! has won many fans since it was first announced and it can now add the judges from the World Car Awards after it was named the 2012 World Car of the Year. Volkswagen can proudly place the trophy alongside the WCOTY titles handed to the Golf VI (2009) and Polo V (2010).
There was stiff competition for the up! as well, having to impress the judges ahead of the other two finalists, the F30 BMW 3 Series and 991 Porsche 911. At least the Porsche gained some consolation for being named the 2012 World Performance Car.
Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chariman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, was unsurprisingly chuffed, “This award shows once again that in the up! our designers and engineers have created a vehicle that has been thought through in minute detail. A vehicle that sets standards in its class for efficient use of space, safety, motoring fun and environmental compatibility.”
For their part, the judges didn’t hold back in their praise, “The little Volkswagen up! has altered what we have come to expect from the citycar segment. Of note are the responsive steering, sophisticated suspension setup, new efficient engines and the quality of materials and finish. Never before in this economy segment have owners felt so premium. Look for every builder of citycars to up its game just to compete with the new VW.”
One of the main improvements for the upcoming Volkswagen Golf VII GTI is a mechanical limited-slip diff, Car magazine reports.
That follows news the Mk7 GTI is likely to make the most of its new MQB platform and weigh up to 100kg less compared to the current 1360kg weight Mk6 GTI (1380kg with DSG).
A modest power increase from 155kW to somewhere around 170kW is expected to be accompanied by a handy 25% increase in torque (up to 350Nm, from 280Nm).
A lighter, more powerful GTI with a proper slippery diff should help to keep it at the top of the hot hatch shopping list.
Green-conscious buyers may be pleased to learn that a Bluemotion GTI is also likely. Narrower tyres, longer gear ratios and a tailored ECU tune will help keep fuel consumption down.
The seventh-generation GTI is on track for a debut in around 12 months from now at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.
[Source: Car]
Word has come through via Wards Auto that Volkswagen will build the new Porsche Boxster. Don’t worry, it’s not a rehash of the 914 collaboration, rather a development of a previous arrangement that Porsche used to have with Finland-based Valmet Automotive.
Porsche will still concentrate Boxster production at its main Zuffenhausen plant, but any overflow will be taken care of by the former Karmann facility in Osnabrück.
Of course, VW has a long association with Karmann, which became something more serious after the coachbuilders filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and Volkswagen stepped in to pick up the pieces.
It’s not the first time Porsche has done this after recently ending a similar agreement with Valmet. Between 1997 and 2011 almost 230,000 Boxsters/Caymans originated from Finland.
[Source: Wards Auto]
Here’s the second and final part of our 2012 Geneva Motor Show photo gallery, featuring manufacturers from L–Z (well V actually). Highlights include the Aventador J pictured above along with a reappearance of the stylish Mazda Takeri concept. The awesome Pagani Huayra is also on show, check the raw carbon fibre model, it looks sublime. Oh, we’d love to hear what you think of the Valmet Automotive Dawn, if it was a person it would no doubt be referred to as one weird cat.
Have you ever thought you couldn’t buy a Volkswagen Amarok because it didn’t suit your freestyle kayaking lifestyle? If you said yes, then you’re in luck, because VW has come up with a concept model just for you.
Dr Wolfgang Schreiber, Head of Development at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, explains, “We are using this extreme concept to illustrate one of the many diverse uses of the Amarok. By tuning its design to an extreme sport, we are bringing the original DNA of the Amarok into focus.â€
The Amarok Canyon concept is both taller and wider than a standard Amarok. But, more importantly, Volkswagen knows how much extreme kayakers cherish their colour palettes. As a result this concept has been finished off in exotic “Baladi Orange” paint. Due to the Canyon’s increased ride height there are electrically operated tread plates which lower when stationary to make it easier to step down from the car.
Hmm, so these extreme kayakers love their pretty colours but they can’t step down an extra 40mm without assistance. Are we really getting the full picture?
Extreme power is provided by a gnarly 132kW/400Nm 2.0 TDI. And you can be sure you’ll reach your destination thanks to the switchable 4motion system.
At least the two carbon fibre kayaks in the back are pretty cool.
Here at AUSmotive we’ve never really understood why manufacturers indulge their customers by releasing chop-top versions of performance models. With the Golf GTI Cabriolet at least there is some old skool heritage there from on the Mk1 GTI Cabriolet.
The same questions apply to the numerous iterations of BMW M3 convertible and, equally, the B7 Audi RS4. Really, why make a lesser version of such iconic cars? Let the hairdressers have their fun, of course, but that’s what the Eos was for, surely?
Anyway, Volkswagen reckon the formula of Golf GTI + Cabriolet is a winner and so here we are. Of course, we got a preview of the GTI Cabrio at last year’s Wörthersee show. We just reckon a concept car is how it should have stayed.
What do you think, have we got it wrong?
UPDATE: New promo video has been added below.
Here is the “new” Volkswagen Cross Coupé. If you think you’ve seen something like this before, well, you have, last December. Back then the Cross Coupé on display in Tokyo was a petrol-electric hybrid. But now, VW has ripped out the TSI engine and plonked in a TDI, coupled it to the electric motors and, voila, a “world premiere”.
The Cross Coupé concept weighs 1858kg and it’s a measure of the car’s technology that it can accelerate to 100km/h in 6.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 220km/h, thanks to its total power of 225kW. Yet, with a cautious approach, it will sip diesel at just 1.8l/100km.
In full electric mode the top speed is limited to 120km/h and a range of only 45km is predicted. An electric motor powers each axle, with up to 40kW sent to the front wheels and a max of 85kW to the rear. If power is being supplied only by the TDI engine the Cross Coupé is front-wheel drive.
In photos the Cross Coupé looks quite big, but in actual fact it is sized in between a Golf and Tiguan. Hinting at a possible production future the concept model has been based on the MQB platform.
Local sales figures tell us the SUV market is the strongest segment around. The Range Rover Evoque is showing that style plays an important role in the market, whether purists like it or not. So, were the Cross Coupé an actual production model do you reckon it would sell well?
Sebastien Ogier and Carlos Sainz have been busy in Spain recently continuing the development of the Polo R WRC. Volkswagen will start racing the Polo in the WRC from next year and plan to hit the ground running.
Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen explains, “Around 70 per cent of the WRC consists of gravel tracks, about 20 per cent of asphalt and roughly 10 per cent of ice and snow. The gravel test in Spain served to simulate the roughest WRC sections and to take the car to its load and stress limits. Particularly chassis components such as the hub carriers, dampers and suspension components were successfully tested in the limit range.â€
Carlos Sainz is cautiously optimistic about the hopes for Volkswagen, “I have a lot of confidence in the squad and the Polo R WRC will no doubt be a big hit. But we mustn’t forget that 2013 will be the Polo’s first year in the WRC whereas the competition will have been active there for many years.â€
More pics after the break. There’s an official video with interviews from Ogier and Sainz, too. See if you dig the 1970s Pink Floyd-inspired soundtrack.
Volkswagen’s GTI badge has enjoyed a renaissance of late, thanks largely to the exploits of the Mk5 Golf GTI. The subsequent and still current Mk6 Golf GTI has maintained the momentum with poise and class, as well. So what of its new baby brother, the Polo GTI, can it live up to the renewed heritage of the GTI name?
The previous model (9N3 2005–09) was powered by a 1.8 litre turbo offering 110kW/210Nm. By the time its life cycle had ended replacing the much loved 1.8T was well overdue. Similarly, the chassis of the fourth-generation Polo GTI didn’t reach any great heights as far as the critics were concerned. Mind, while we’ve never driven a 9N3 GTI we’ve seen enough anecdotal evidence to suggest its handling prowess is far better than its reputation. So much so, that, unusually for a Volkswagen, it was the car’s interior which was perhaps its weakest point.
Visually, the fifth-generation 6R Polo GTI hits the spot. We reckon it looks fantastic. The standard Polo provides a good base, of course. But the GTI version, with familiar styling cues filtering down from its bigger brother, follows the hot hatch style guide to the letter. Even the woeful looking and embarrassingly out of date 17″ Denver alloys seem to, somehow, look perfectly acceptable.
For the first time since the Mk1 GTI, Volkswagen is set to release a new Golf GTI Cabriolet, Auto Express reports. The reveal is expected to take place at next month’s Geneva Motor Show and will be one of the last new launches on the Mk6 platform, before the Mk7 debuts at Paris in September.
A concept study GTI Cabrio was shown at last year’s Wörthersee show and it’s understood most of the car’s features will carry over to the production model. Expect the flared arches and tweaked body kit to go, but the wheels should be available as a factory option. The GTI model will employ a soft-top roof as per the regular Golf Cabrio.
Also on display at Wörthersee was a Golf R Cabrio and rumours suggest that it may be released as a production model as well.
[Source: Auto Express]