Volkswagen is planning a potent Golf concept car for the Beijing Show in April. And it’s one that’s heading for production.
Called the Golf R Evo concept, it will be based on the standard Golf R (launched here in SA next week) and powered by a 276 kW/ 449 Nm, 2,0-litre, four-cylinder turbo engine that, among various other tweaks, will include new cylinder heads, and an improved induction system.
The engine’s development will be overseen by VW’s head of engine development, Fritz Eichler. Herr Eichler – you might remember – is the guy who developed the Merc A45 AMG/CLA45 AMG engine. Delivering 260 kW, it is currently the most powerful four-cylinder motor in production.
To handle this extra power, the car will feature a six-speed dual clutch gearbox and electro-mechanical Haldex multi-plate clutch four-wheel drive system.
VW, according to AutoCar, will also look to put the standard Golf R on a diet with a stripped out interior and carbon fibre body panels. Looks wise, it’s likely to be an evolution of the extreme 370 kW V6-powered Golf Design Vision GTi concept VW presented at the Wörthersee fan meet last year.
2014 is of course the 40th anniversary of the Golf GTI and at the Wörthersee, VW brand design boss, Klaus Bischoff, did say that the Vision GTI would showcase a number of design elements destined for the 40th Anniversary GTI model. This is likely to be it… and that means, Golf R Evo concept could well be headed for production.
