What's the news?
You do have to feel for SEAT and Skoda. Just as they were basking in the glow from the Leon Cup Racer and Rapid Sport Concept that were unveiled ahead of Wörthersee Volkswagen has swooped in to take all the plaudits with the Design Vision GTI. And the reasons for the plaudits? How about 503hp produced by a twin-turbocharged V6 engine and four-wheel drive for starters?
Exterior
While the connection to the seventh-generation Golf GTI is undeniable, the Design Vision is a GTI that has been to the gym and buffed up - maybe with a little help from anabolic steroids. Lower and wider than the road car, it also features extended arches and oversized sills that seamlessly flow from the C-pillar all the way to the front bumper. There you will find GTI trademarks like the honeycomb grille with red detailing but the lights have been recessed beneath the bonnet. Volkswagen says this gives the car 'eyes' and we can only imagine seeing those 'eyes' appearing out of the darkness on a race track.
Interior
The interior of the Design Vision has been styled around the concept of "concentration on the truly essential", meaning as few distractions as possible. The dashboard therefore features the minimum number of switches and those that there are oriented towards the driver for optimum use when driving on the track. And a track car the concept is, as evidenced by the X-shaped cross member where you would expect to find rear seats and a pair of helmets sitting under it. The black, red and white colour scheme will be familiar to GTI drivers but this has been offset with touches of carbon and Alcantara and a door handle modelled on that found in Porsche Cup models.
Mechanicals
The Design Concept GTI is powered by a 3.0-litre 503hp twin-turbo V6 engine. Nothing startling about that (the last insane GTI concept was powered by a W12 engine from the Bentley Continental), but Volkswagen does not currently have a twin-turbo V6 in production, leading to speculation that the Porsche engine plant was raided for the unit that is expected to be fitted to the Macan SUV.
Whatever the origins of the unit it is certainly befitting of a Wörthersee concept with peak power kicking in at 6,500rpm and 500- of the available 650Nm of torque on offer from just 2,000rpm. This power is channelled via a DSG gearbox to all four wheels allowing for a 0-100km/h sprint of just 3.9 seconds.
Despite using the same basic underpinnings as the production Golf GTI the concept is 15mm shorter, has a longer wheelbase and is 71mm wider. Much of the extra width is down to a wider track to accommodate the unique 20-inch wheels and the ceramic brakes that reside behind them.
Anything else?
The Design Vision GTI has been designed for the annual GTI Treffen event, held on the shores of Lake Wörthersee in Reifnitz, Austria. Around 150,000 fans are expected to attend the gathering between now and Saturday and all Volkswagen brands will be in attendance with many producing concepts just for the show.