VW Golf: 12-cylinder Golf claims 200mph top speed
One-off super-Golf has mid-mounted 641bhp W12 and can top 200mph
Volkswagen stunned crowds at the annual GTI festival in Worthersee, Austria, recently with this incredible creation, the Golf GTI W12-650.
As you might be able to decipher from its name, it has a 6-litre, twin-turbo W12 engine mounted where the rear seats should be, sending 641bhp (650PS) to the rear wheels. Torque is capped at 553lb ft at 4500rpm, while the gearbox that has to deal with it all is a six-speed tiptronic auto. It’s claimed the über-Golf will hit 62mph in just 3.7sec and go on to an equally supercar-like (and faintly scary) 201.8mph.
Marc Lichte, the man responsible for last year's Iroc concept, designed the exterior, which has several concessions to cooling for the monster engine. The overall width has increased by 160mm to incorporate two large scoops that channel air to the rear-mounted radiators, while the 'floating' C-pillars feed cooling air to the engine.
Other key features include under-floor aerodynamics that negate the need for a wing on the carbon roof, and 19in recreations of the standard GTI’s alloys.
Comparisons with the much-missed Clio V6 are inevitable, but unlike the Renault this is strictly a ‘design concept’ with no hopes of production. Shame.
