As far as hot hatches go, the current VW Golf R is a pretty sweet package for the street. With 300ps (296hp) on tap, a quick-shifting six-speed DSG or six-speed manual transmission and 4MOTION four-wheel drive as standard fare, it’s not hard to see why either. That’s not to say that it can’t be improved upon though, and to prove that the engineers at Volkswagen R GmbH were tasked with creating the ultimate interpretation of the Mk7 Golf-based machine. Over the weekend at Auto China 2014 – aka the 13th annual Beijing International Automobile Exhibition – VW pulled the wraps off the Golf R 400.
Practicality meets punch in this conceptual creation, with room for four and 3.9-second 0-100km/h and 280km/h (limited) top-end performance. It’s all thanks to 400ps – hence the name – (395hp) and 450Nm of firepower wrapped up in a perfectly balanced package.
Visually, it’s not hard to spot the differences between the R 400 and the Golf R production car it’s been fashioned from. Along with a reimagined front bumper complete with carbon fibre front splitter and an aerodynamic wing-type element designed to channel airflow towards the grille, the concept received ’88 Rallye Golf G60-inspired wheel arches too. At 20mm wider per side, they’ve allowed the fitment of evolved and more aggressively offset, 19-inch Volkswagen Cadiz wheels wrapped in high performance 235/35R rubber. The dual-vent rear bumper is new as well and four tailpipes have given way to two large 110mm outlets reminiscent of the ’02 Golf R32.
Like the Golf R, the R 400 is powered by VW’s EA888 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo mill, but it’s been breathed upon to develop that extra 100ps (98.6hp) over the standard car. Engineers in the R division achieved this by fitting a newly-developed turbocharger and twisting up the boost pressure – but not before strengthening the engine’s architecture with a reinforced crankcase.
The R 400 is dressed for the occasion on the inside as well, with the Golf R’s optional harness-ready motorsport shell seats given a special trim upgrade with Alcantara and carbon leather, and contrasting stitching to pick-up the other Lemon Yellow accents around the car.
Although the Golf R 400 is still a concept and there are no immediate plans for Volkswagen to make the car available for order – or at least any it’s letting onto at this stage – we’ll take the fact that it’s looking production-ready to be a fairly promising sign. One thing’s for certain – there won’t be shortage of people putting their hands up for one, if and when it does go on sale and the price is right. We can only hope!
Brad Lord
brad@speedhunters.com
Photos: Volkswagen