Crazy gullwing-door Volkswagen Golf GTi

by Vijay Pattni
These are the first pictures of the craziest-looking Golf GTi Volkswagen has ever built – the Volkswagen Golf GTi Performance.
The Volkswagen Golf GTi Performance is a design study which the carmaker is showcasing at the annual Worthersee Tour.
The Volkswagen Golf GTi Performance study is a one-off car by the German carmaker which features crazy upwards-opening doors as found on the Lamborghini Murcielago and Lamborghini Gallardo.
View more images of the Volkswagen Golf GTi Performance
The Volkswagen Golf GTi Performance study also features a wide bodykit, lowered suspension and larger alloy wheels.
The bonkers Golf is on display at the Worthersee Tour, which is an annual gathering of Audi and Volkswagen enthusiasts and a platform for one-off VW models.
Last year Volkswagen unveiled the 6-litre twin-turbocharged Golf W12 650, which uses the engine from a Volkswagen Phaeton and produces a titanic 641bhp.
View more images of the Volkswagen Golf W12 650
This means the mid-engined hatch will accelerate from 0-62mph in just 3.7 seconds and hit a top speed of 195mph – as quick as a Lamborghini Gallardo.
Volkswagen hasn’t released any official information on the one-off Volkswagen Golf GTi Performance study, but the pictures show two huge exhaust tips surrounded by wire mesh.
And Volkswagen has fitted two bottles of nitrous oxide – which instantly boost power at the touch of a button – into the boot, indicating an uprated version of the standard Golf GTi’s 200bhp 2-litre petrol engine.
The mad Golf gets a black and orange paint scheme with racing decals while the interior gets a three-seat interior.
Audi is also showcasing two crazy new models at the Worthersee Tour – but this one’s going into production.
The hot new Audi TT Clubsport Quattro is an open-top roadster with no fixed or folding roof and will come with a highly tuned 2-litre turbocharged engine said to “break the magical 300bhp barrier.”
View more images of the Audi TT Clubsport Quattro
Audi is also displaying the Audi A3 TDI Clubsport Quattro at the Worthersee meet.
View more images of the Audi A3 TDi Clubsport Quattro
Check out the standard Volkswagen Golf GTi put through its paces:

Tuner adds heat to Volkswagen Golf R32

by Adrian Hearn
A German tuner has taken the range-topping Volkswagen Golf R32 hot hatch and beefed it up – to 372bhp.
ABT Sportsline – which has previously built some crazy cars including a modified Audi A5 – has taken the Volkswagen Golf R32’s 3.2-litre V6 engine and tuned the engine management system and fitted a supercharger.
This has increased power from an already adequate 250bhp to 372bhp – just eight less than an Aston Martin Vantage sports car.
This means the Volkswagen Golf R32 will accelerate from 0-62mph (100kph) in five seconds and on to a top speed of 168mph – 13mph more than the standard R32.
Handling should be sublime with the R32 benefiting from four-wheel drive, while ABT has also fitted a sports suspension and 19-inch alloys wheels.
But this isn’t the fastest Golf in a straight line.
Last year Volkswagen unveiled the Golf W12-650, where they had taken a standard Golf GTi and fitted it with a rear-mounted twin-turbocharged version of the 6-litre W12 engine from the Phaeton.
Add Lamborghini brakes and an Audi R8 chassis and you have 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of over 200mph.
But it was a show car designed in just six weeks so, when it came to lapping the Top Gear track the Stig managed a time of 1min 29.6seconds – just 0.8seconds quicker than a standard R32.
ABT hasn’t disclosed a price for its 372bhp Volkswagen Golf R32, but expect to pay about £32,000 plus import taxes for the left-hand drive hot hatch.