Continuing our report on VW’s super-impressive 650Hp strong Golf GTI W12 Concept, we just got our hands on the full English press release that answers most of our questions concerning the king of GTI’s. But that’s not all. As you can see, we also added high-res images (including the very first picture of the interior) and a short video, all from VW’s presentation at the GTI meeting “Worthersee 2007”. Check them all out after the jump. (Click “Read More…” below)
Golf GTI W12-650 - Key Aspects
Showtime at Wörthersee: The 325 km/h GTI
World premiere of the 650-PS Golf at GTI Meeting at the Wörthersee
W12 bi-turbo engine with 6.0 liter displacement and 750 Nm torque
325 km/h fast showcar sprints to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds
No Golf has ever been more powerful, or wider, or faster. The GTI W12-650 gives the appearance of having come directly from the racetrack. A Golf that could be the pace car for the 24 hour race at
3.7 seconds, 325 km/h, 750 Newton-meter
Its 6.0-liter bi-turbo engine is longitudinally mounted directly behind the driver and front passenger. This transforms the GTI into a classic mid-engine sports car. A six-speed automatic transmission hammers the maximum torque of 750 Newton-meters (at 4,500 rpm) to the rear axle. It catapults the GTI to 100 km/h in just 3.7 seconds. The bi-turbo propels drivers who keep their foot to the gas pedal well beyond the 300 km/h barrier. The speedometer needle does not pause until it reaches 325 km/h. The Golf GTI W12-650 outpaces nearly all other cars of this world.
1.88 meters wide, 235 tires in front, 295 in back
Under the broad 1.88 meter (production: 1.76 meter) width and low 1.42 meter (production: 1.50 Meter) height of its body, engineers and designers have brought together automotive technologies not seen in this combination on any other car. Each component is sourced internally. That in particular is a tribute to the unequaled breadth of technology at Volkswagen AG.
The chassis components of this showcar, for example, were adapted directly from a super sports car. Mounted on the front axle are 235 tires in 19-inch format, while in the rear there are 295 tires. Naturally, alloy wheels are also used: Due to the gigantic tire dimensions, the brightly machined “
70 millimeters lower, 160 millimeters wider
The axles were “pushed” 70 millimeters further into the body; the wheel well cutouts and gigantic wheel arches are part of the shoulder section, as in a coupe. Klaus Bischoff, Director of Volkswagen Design: “In the rear, the showcar is 80 millimeters wider on each side. However, the body of the GTI easily takes this in. We already have a strong shoulder section here on the production model. We were able to draw it outward even more distinctly, like on a sports car.”
The chief designer continues: “Our goal was clearly defined – despite the somewhat dramatic engineering changes, it was very clear that the GTI was to remain a classic GTI. The design of the Golf is like a fingerprint. If it is erased, the entire character of the car is ruined. That could not be allowed to happen under any circumstances.” That is also why as many components as possible, such as the headlamps, the doors – newly hung due to the wide side skirt – front hood and taillights were taken from the Golf.
C-pillars as part of air duct for engine cooling
“Our greatest challenge”, says Klaus Bischoff, “was to provide the six-liter mid-engine with sufficient air, without watering down the GTI’s side profile. In addition, provisions had to be made for sufficient downforce at the rear axle on such a fast type of car. But for aesthetic reasons we did not want to put an enormous rear spoiler on the car.”
In both cases a trick helped. Klaus Bischoff: “The strongest Golf design elements are the C-pillars. But it is precisely here that we needed air ducts for engine cooling air. Therefore, the C-pillars were redesigned on short order to assume this function of routing air to the engine. In doing so, we simply made the rear windows turn inward. This created two ducts between the windows and the C pillars, on the left and right, through which air flows for engine cooling. We got the rest of the cooling air in front via the gigantic radiators and the ducts connected to them, as well as on the sides via air inlets on the side skirts.” Expressed differently: At first glance all parts of the rear section look like a production GTI, but it was actually redesigned intensively.
Carbon-fiber roof is a diffuser
Innovative body construction has also prevented the lines of the GTI W12-650 from being ruined by a roof-mounted wing. Klaus Bischoff: “This GTI carries its wing internally. The roof is part of an enormous diffuser that supplies sufficient downforce to the rear axle. It consists of a carbon-fiber material and directs the air over and under the rear spoiler to achieve road grip, like in car racing.”
The bumpers of the showcar are powerful and at the same time coherently designed. In the rear, as in the front, the GTI W12-650 is characterized by enormous air inlets and outlets. Two dual chrome-plated tailpipes frame the air outlet in the rear. At the front of the car, the eye-catching straight-line grille between the headlamps, with its red frame, is reminiscent of the first GTI.
Interior with racing ambitions
Technorati: Volkswagen, VW+Golf+GTI, automobile, cars, automotive, vehicles, autos, Carscoop, blogs, 2007, images, pictures
