I wish this Volkswagen prototype actually made it into production
The Volkswagen Golf is one of the most multi-faceted vehicles in the world from the Golf R to the Golf GTi, this seemingly regular car has spawned a whole host of performance versions and throughout history, we have all loved them. While the performance Golfs are great, Volkswagen once built an all out demon version.
So, in the main picture, we have the fifth generation Volkswagen Golf R32 which is powered by a 3.2 litre VR6 engine that makes just under 250hp and in case you were thinking the all out version I’m talking about is the GTI W12-650 which was a mid-engine concept, I have something far crazier in mind.
Moreover, the engineers from Wolfsburg once built a whole supercar in the guise of the Volkswagen Golf and in an interview with The Intercooler, Marcos Marques, Project Manager eFuels at Porsche, revealed that Volkswagen once built a fifth-generation, all-wheel-drive (AWD) Golf with a V10 engine.
As with all Mk5 Volkswagen Golf models sold to the public, the engine was mounted transversally at the front, quite different from the Lamborghini Gallardo and Audi R8, both of which had their naturally aspirated V10 installed longitudinally, behind the seats, but this car still also had the performance the other two were known for.
Although Marques wasn’t directly involved in the project, he believes the project came to be at a time when the Volkswagen Group was supposedly interested in rejoining Formula 1. While the car never came to be, it would have been a monster on the F1 track for sure if it did ever enter production.
On top of that, although the engine specifications were never fully revealed, it was agreed upon that the Volkswagen unit made about 500hp and revved all the way up to 8,200 rpm and Marques spotted a running prototype at a secret facility in Wolfsburg, stating, “I saw it and I heard it running a few times, and it was quite a crazy car.”
While many see the VR6, V10, and W12 as the end of unique Golf projects, aficionados know otherwise. In April 2014, during the Mk7 era, Volkswagen unveiled the R400 concept with a 2.0 TSI bumped up to 400 horsepower however, with Dieselgate being a thing, the project was abandoned. There was even a prototype on the Nurburgring with Audi’s inline-five engine which also never happened.
As far as Audi goes, at some point it was said that Volkswagen wanted to borrow the former brand’s turbocharged 2.5 litre for a souped-up Golf R Mk8 but Audi outright refused and the reasoning was fairly obvious as a five-cylinder Golf R would certainly have eaten into the sales of the Audi RS3.
We got all this from Motor1 and their full article is linked here. Thank you Motor1 for the information and images.
