Following Volkswagen's preview teased earlier this week, the German marque has officially unveiled the most powerful Golf ever made, the Golf R 400 concept at the 2014 Beijing Motor Show. However, this is only a concept as Volkswagen is yet to approve this model into production.
What is special under the hood? The new Golf R 400 concept has a 2.0-liter TSI turbocharged petrol engine which has been tweaked for more power. Instead of 300 ps (221 kW), this mill makes 400 ps (294 kW), that's 170 ps (125 kW) more than the Golf GTi Performance Package and 100 ps (74 kW) more than the standard Golf R! That's 200 ps per liter. Torque has risen too, from 380 Nm to 450 Nm of torque. This is thanks with the help of the technical components taken from the WRC rally car. Curb weight is rated at 1,420 kg, hence it has a power to weight ratio of 3.55 kg per horsepower.
Thanks to the extra boost, it can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds before reaching its limited top speed of 280 km/h, 30 km/h more than the standard Golf R. With this performance figures, it makes super sports car that costs twice as much as this slower than this concept hatchback. The Golf R 400 concept is paired with a six-speed dual clutch (wet-clutch) automatic transmission sending its wheels via a 4MOTION all-wheel drive system.
Besides the performance hike, Volkswagen engineers retains the handling packages from the production Golf R such as lowered suspension lock-stock-and-barrel, XDS+ system on both front and rear axles and two-mode ESC with a full deactivation setting for brave and skilled drivers. The tyres are retained from the production model as it wears 235/35 R19 rubbers despite the rims being modified with a curve spoke design. This special rims are acting as vanes to cool down its braking system.
While the folks of Volkswagen R GmbH deals with the performance tuning, its Volkswagen Design who are responsible for the design for this concept car which inspires the company's wide foray of the world of motorsports. Compared to the production Golf R, the Golf R 400 concept is 20mm wider than its bigger brother to accommodate the redesigned 19-inch rims. A redesigned front wing is installed on the concept car to accommodate the tyres bringing spirit of the 1988 Rallye Golf G60. Unlike the production Golf R bearing its chrome highlights, the 400 however features the striking "Lemon Yellow" colour theme. Last but not least, the Golf R 400 concept follow its roots from the old Golf R32 by adopting a two central tailpipe design.
Inside, it boasts cross-quilted Alcantara leather trims and seats upholstered in "carbon leather". There is also the same contrasting "Lemon Yellow" stitching which can also be found from the outside of the vehicle. Carbon accents dominates the cabin as it wants to keep the company's motorsport DNA. It is used extensively to the centre console accents, cockpit surround, door inserts, and trim around the air nozzles.
