400hp Volkswagen Golf R 400 pays tribute to Golf Rallye

Volkswagen clearly knows us too well. In its press release to accompany the world premiere of the Volkswagen Golf R 400, the Germany company references not one, but two performance heroes from yesterday.

“Flared wings are a tribute to the legendary Rallye Golf G60”, it says. Two polished tailpipes, that “follow the design of the Golf R32 - the original R-series model presented in 2002”, it goes on to say.

The Rallye and R32, you say? Consider our interest piqued.

The Golf R 400 is, to all intents and purposes, an even more hardcore version of the already pretty hardcore Golf R. But there’s a clue to the potential of this at-present-just-a-concept performance hatch. The 400 stands for 400hp.

Yes, that’s right, 400hp, from a Volkswagen Golf. It’s as though Volkswagen stood waiting in the wings for Subaru to reveal the new 300hp Impreza WRX STi, only to slap it back down to earth with an extra 100hp for good measure.

VW

The Golf R 400 uses the same 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine as the Golf R, but this highly tuned version produces 400hp at 7,200rpm and a Scooby-taming 332lb ft of torque between 2,400 and 6,000rpm.

The sprint to 62mph is polished off in about the time it’ll take you to read this sentence - just 3.9 seconds. And it’ll go on to reach a top speed of 174mph. You need to remind yourself that we’re talking about a Volkswagen Golf here, and not some thoroughbred sports car.

The Golf R 400 uses the same 4Motion all-wheel drive system as the Golf R, with power delivered through a six-speed dual clutch DSG gearbox, which can be shifted manually via the steering-wheel mounted controls.

Keeping things in check when the going gets twisty is Volkswagen’s XDS+ system, which brakes the wheels on the inside of a bend to improving handling.

The suspension and tyres remain unchanged from the Golf R, but there are a number of exterior upgrades to separate this raging animal from the suddenly-tame-sounding Golf R.

Like those flared arches, which widen the Golf’s body by 20mm on each side to accommodate the 19-inch rims and their larger wheel offset. It’s a Golf Rallye for the 21st Century. Only Volkswagen actually made that homologation special for real.

Then there’s the centrally-mounted R32-style exhaust, which differs from the four tailpipes found on the Golf R. And don’t worry, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, the teaser image really does feature a Lemon Yellow line in the grille and Lemon Yellow R badge.

On the inside, there’s the obligatory mix of Alcantara and leather, with Lemon Yellow R badges on the backs of the front seats.

As things stand, Volkswagen is positioning the Golf R 400 as a concept that “showcases the sporty potential of the model series”.

But you have to think, why would Volkswagen go to so much trouble to demonstrate the potential, only to do nothing with it? If it’s well received at the Beijing Motor Show, don’t bet against a production version of the Golf R 400.

On Bing: see pictures of the Volkswagen Golf R 400
Find out how much a used Volkswagen Golf costs on Auto Trader
Read a Volkswagen review on MSN Cars

By Gavin Braithwaite-Smith, Motoring Research