Wörthersee Tour 2011

The annual Wörthersee Tour meeting saw the VW Group wheel out a larger than usual selection of concepts to appease the flocks of GTi devotees who made the pilgrimage across to Austria for Europe’s largest VW Festival.

Now in its 30th year, the Wörtherseetour meeting brings together lovers of all VW Group models. We take a look at what the OEMs offered their fans:

Volkswagen
Volkswagen saw fit to unveil two sporting variations of the new Golf cabriolet model. The GTi and R models both made their debuts at the Wörthersee Tour. The MK6 Golf GTi cabriolet is the first official drop-top variant that has been produced in the icon's 35-year lifespan.

Presented in ‘Firespark Metallic’, the open-top GTi has clearly been influenced by the aftermarket, sporting large diameter, two-tone, alloy wheels and an unsubtle bodykit that visually lowers the GTi whilst adding a dose of aggression.

The R variant, however, is a much more subdued affair. Finished in a traditional bright blue metallic hue and sporting the same split five-spoke alloys as the road-going hatch, the R cabriolet, despite being billed as a concept, would appear to be a thinly-veiled production model.

In addition to the two cabriolet models, Volkswagen took the time to display an array of Anniversary models and racecars.

Audi
Audi took the opportunity to offer up a highly modified version of the diminutive A1 city car. The Wörthersee version sported a vastly-updated version of the RS3 Sportback’s turbo engine to deliver ballistic performance and headline-grabbing power figures.

The Clubsport A1 is clearly inspired by Audi’s motorsport heritage. With classic white paint, large diameter wheels and brakes and side-exit exhaust, it's akin to the Audi A4 DTM cars.

The concept also sports a carbon fiber roof and a heavily modified DRG featuring air intakes and carbon splitter. The  hood has also been transformed to provide a functional exit for engine heat. The most obvious addition to the A1 Clubsport are the UR Quattro-influenced blistered arches, which add 60mm to the car's track. Around the rear, the Clubsport gains a large diffuser and roof-mounted spoiler.

Inside, the rear seats are ditched in favor of a large diameter crossbar, whilst the front gains lightweight bucket seats taken from the R8 GT – all adding to Audi’s paradigm of the Clubsport being 'a road vehicle for the race track’.

Skoda
Skoda, the third of Volkswagen's brands to debut a car at Wörthersee, brought along a concept that also drew heavily on a motorsports heritage, the Fabia vRS 2000

The vRS 2000 concept takes influence from the Fabia Super 2000 rally car, but was created with the sole purpose of delivering 'dynamism and the joy of sporty driving’. To that end, the four-seat roadster features a steeply raked windscreen that flows into the rest of the car's minimal glasshouse.

The heavily blistered arches and sculpted bumpers have been lifted directly from the Super 2000 rally car, as have the large diameter, lightweight alloy wheels the Skoda sits atop. As with the other concepts from VW Group, the vRS 2000 is finished in a color synonymous with the brand; this time being the vibrant Skoda Green.

The green tone is continued through to the interior of the concept and onto the piping on the black leather bucket seats, which in turn are juxtaposed against swathes of carbon fiber. These aid in conveying the sporting intent of the vRS 2000.

By John O'Brien