Volkswagen has officially revealed its new Golf GTI TCR Concept at the annual GTI Meeting at Wörthersee, saying the show car is “almost ready for production”.
As we’ve previously reported, the special-edition Golf GTI will be positioned as a road-going version of the racing car with which it shares a name.
Billed as the new flagship Golf GTI, the new model employs the Wolfsburg-based brand’s familiar turbocharged 2,0-litre four-cylinder, but tuned to deliver 213 kW (between 5 000 and 6 800 r/min) and 370 N.m (from 1 600 to 4 300 r/min), up on the standard GTI’s 169 kW and 350 N.m.
This increased oomph is directed to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and a limited-slip differential. While the factory-set maximum speed is 250 km/h, this can be upped to 264 km/h by opting to remove the electronic top-speed limiter (making it the fastest Golf GTI ever).
The Golf GTI TCR runs on 18-inch “Belvedere” forged alloys, with newly designed 19-inch alloys as an option. These wheels frame chunky perforated brake discs with special callipers and pads “designed to slow the production vehicle just as effortlessly as the race car”.
An optional package pushing the performance of the Golf GTI TCR even higher, with the removal of the speed limiter and the availability of 19-inch wheels, also includes a sports chassis setting and adaptive damping.
The most powerful GTI yet features a model-specific front bumper that feeds air into the vehicle’s two additional radiators and also features a sharply contoured front splitter. A new side-skirt extension is continued through the rear of the car, joining the distinctively designed diffuser and the integrated exhaust tailpipes. TCR lettering above the side-skirts is also featured, along with optional GTI-style honeycomb trim for the side of the vehicle.
Inside, the sport seats have model-specific microfibre and fabric covers, with a red central motif that is repeated with the contrast stitching on the steering wheel and shifter. When the doors are opened, the TCR logo is projected on to the ground and the stainless steel rocker trim has a red illuminated element.
“At the moment, the Golf GTI TCR Concept – an athlete derived from racing – is a study. But at the end of the year, we want to make this GTI vision come true,” confirmed Jürgen Stackmann, sales, board of management of Volkswagen AG.
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