174-mph Volkswagen Golf R400 heads for Beijing motor show

Volkswagen has divulged plans to reveal a spectacular new Golf R-based concept car called the Golf R400 at this weekend's Beijing auto show.

Said to preview a possible limited production model from Volkswagen's increasingly active R performance car division, the Golf R400 runs a powered-up version of the Golf R's turbocharged 2.0-liter direct-injection gasoline engine aimed at providing it with the sort of firepower to match the current king of the Euro hot hatchback brigade, the Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG.

VW
The VW Golf R400 makes 395 hp from a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

As the new concept car's name suggests, the four-cylinder unit has been heavily reworked to deliver a claimed 400ps (metric horsepower), or 395 hp, at a high (by turbocharged engine standards) 7,200 rpm.

This is 99 hp up on the milder tune used by the Golf R and some 40 hp more than that mustered by the turbocharged 2.0-liter direct injection four in the A45 AMG. Torque, meanwhile, peaks at 332 lb-ft on a band of revs between 2,400 and ,6000 rpm.

The power is channeled to all four wheel via a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox and multiplate clutch four-wheel drive system -- the latter of which uses electronic differential locks similar to those found on the Golf R.

Initial performance claims give the Golf R400 a 0-to-62 mph time of just 3.9 seconds. This is 1 second faster than Volkswagen quotes for the Golf R and 0.7 seconds inside the time Mercedes-Benz claims for the A45 AMG. Top speed is put at 174 mph -- up by 19 mph on the Golf R and A45 AMG.

Volkswagen plans to disclose further details to the Golf R400 at its unveiling in China, so stay tuned.

Volkswagen
The VW Golf R400 will sport aggressive lines at its China motor show debut.

By Greg Kable