It runs. It moves. The VW GTI W12 650 in motion
Click image for high-res gallery
Now, don't get too excited. This isn't some VW-produced promo video depicting the twin-turbocharged GTI W12 650 show car pushing ludicrous speeds on the Nürburgring or anything. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Here, we see it doing a run-through for a show presentation at low speed. It definitely sounds mean, though, with an exhaust note that we'd gladly listen to all day. Those aggressive looks haven't gotten old to anyone here yet, either. Come on, VW -- put it on a track with a professional camera crew and give us some real eye candy already. Let's see how it looks and sounds at something better than parade speed (assuming it's capable).
Follow the jump for the video.
[Source: YouTube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
bmoredlj 11:29AM (6/19/2007)
More importantly...when do they start SELLING it?
Halo car!
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epilonious 12:00PM (6/19/2007)
So, enjoying that Phaeton are ya?
Brad 11:48AM (6/19/2007)
Whhhhhat! I was soooo skeptical it actually ran! That would be a freakin' rocketship!
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F451 11:58AM (6/19/2007)
Two of my neighbors have a Lamborghini Gallardo, and I would love to borrow this "ultimate sleeper" to blow their doors off one morning.
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Ligor 12:02PM (6/19/2007)
looks like VW is doning the same with their GTi as Ford is dong with the Mustang (at least the Mustang sell in the 100+k range)
as I see it this will never be produced and it's just there to make people thing VW is somethign exciting, when all they are is a POS
if I wanted FWD, i'd stick with Acura and maybe in the coming years even Saturn (both of which are more reliable than VW)
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EatRiceDriveGerman 12:38PM (6/19/2007)
way to use this opportunity to bash VW. get a life u rice burning bandwagoneer. im sure you have plenty of other sites to disappoint with your negativity.
epilonious 1:27PM (6/19/2007)
"way to use this opportunity to bash VW. get a life u rice burning bandwagoneer. im sure you have plenty of other sites to disappoint with your negativity."
...Says the person who will take the time to whine about his/her precious being badmouthed, but will not take the time to actually find refuting facts or spell out whole words.
I'm beginning to get more insight into VW's target market: extremely susceptible to advertising, loyal to a fault, and not valuing those pesky statistics.
Dr. Woo 1:50PM (6/19/2007)
Of course it won't be produced. You're not filling us in on anything new here. It's meant to build brand awareness and get people talking. And guess what you're doing?
While I typically feel no need to justify my adoration for VW-Audi, I can say that my years of owning VW-Audi products have produced nary a problem and lots of wide grins.
And for God's sake, get off the pretentious high-horse of "FWD < * " If you took the time to drive some of the newest front-drive offerings such as the MazdaSpeed3, the GTI, or Cooper S without some self-righteous preconceived notion of supposed "inferiority," you might actually enjoy yourself and realize FWD can be engaging, nimble, and FUN for people who'd rather have a smaller car with better fuel mileage.
testa di cazzo 1:57PM (6/19/2007)
This car isn't FWD, moron. look at the picture where it's burning rubber. the REAR WHEELS ARE TURNING, NOT THE FRONT
testa di cazzo 1:57PM (6/19/2007)
the moron was directed at Ligor, not Dr. Whoo, by the way
Tim UF 12:05PM (6/19/2007)
Lets get the folks over at Turn10 to model this car into Forza Motorsport 2!
And how about an Audi r10 while they are at it!
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JD 1:56PM (6/19/2007)
I second that all the way. Forza 2 is the best!
Globaldrifter 12:10PM (6/19/2007)
The caption in the first 15 seconds of the video states, "25 Millionen Golf." Does this mean they spent 25 Million Euros developing this concept? Perhaps I'm way off, but it got me wondering.
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Peter 12:48PM (6/19/2007)
No, it means they've built more than 25 Million Golfs so far...
Juls 12:57PM (6/19/2007)
No, the video was taken on the celebration of the 25 millionth Golf build.
doglet 2:02PM (6/19/2007)
"And for God's sake, get off the pretentious high-horse of "FWD < * "
good for a fwd car is still crap. you have to admit that fwd
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epilonious 2:57PM (6/19/2007)
"And for God's sake, get off the pretentious high-horse of "FWD < * " If you took the time to drive some of the newest front-drive offerings such as the MazdaSpeed3, the GTI, or Cooper S without some self-righteous preconceived notion of supposed "inferiority," you might actually enjoy yourself and realize FWD can be engaging, nimble, and FUN for people who'd rather have a smaller car with better fuel mileage."
Ah, Dr. Woo... you are so silly sometimes.
FWD is cheap. For most sedans/coupes/compacts that is the end-all be-all of why FWD is beneficial: The elimination of a drive-shaft and transfer case. Back in the day you could argue it was better for getting out of the snow, but with better balancing and traction control that is becoming less and less of a factor.
Beyond it's cheapness, FWD is HORRIBLE for sporting applications. In all the cars you just mentioned, Torque Steer rears it's big ugly head whenever accelerating, and under-steer rears IT'S big ugly head whenever maneuvering. With FWD, hard acceleration and steering become mutually exclusive as more and more power is applied. Finally, FWD cars eat front tires and ONLY the front tires like anyones business. Since one pair of wheels is doing the acceleration, steering, and a majority of the braking tire fade and replacement becomes a problem that much faster bringing the third big ugly head to the Cerberus of why FWD is awful for motorsports.
If a stock TC were to go up against a stock late-90s 240SX (same power, same engine, same weight), I am pretty sure that the 240SX would win just because it could actually power through the turns and spread the tire-chewing across all four tires and not beat the hell out of the drivers arms.
Yes, it's cute to see Minis (old and new) tooting around a track, and it's cool what tech has been dropped into SRT4s and Mazdaspeed3s and Civic SI's and GTIs to try and make them go faster than the usual compact while muting down the deficiencies, but it still remains that they are tarting up the econobox to get a cheap "performance" model to attract the 20-somethings and make a buck. BMWs and Mercedes and Lexus (self-labeled "superior" car companies if there ever were any) are mostly RWD for the handling benefits, and Dodge and GM are trying to get more RWD cars to get out of the bread-n-butter sedan rut in the interest of performance too.
Hell, the prospect of a RWD Hyundai has all of autoblog a twitter. So many people would ditch their GTIs and Mzspeed3s and civic SI's and SRT4s for an actual RWD compact.
And you, Dr. Woo, cannot tell me the idea of a RWD Scirocco doesn't make you moist. Hence, I am relatively sure that your "gawrsh, stop saying FF is the worst driveline for racing" sensibilities are complete bullshit.
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Dr. Woo 12:27PM (6/20/2007)
There's no way I'd turn down a RWD Scirocco. But don't think I'm saying FWD is just as good as RWD. I'm just sick and tired of the whole "it's FWD, it's crap" argument because people read that their fantasy Paganis and Ferraris all have RWD.
So here's a question for you as pertains to my situation and why I purchased my GTI: Where's the RWD $21,000 brand-new small, sporty, PRACTICAL, quality car that gets a combined 30 mpg city-hwy? If I was looking for a car solely for performance or as a second car, I wouldn't look at a FWD car. In fact, my "dream garage" (don't lie, everyone has one) doesn't have a single FWD vehicle inside. But since I don't make enough money to get that sweet, sweet S6, I have to settle.
So once again, I repeat my previous statement: FWD can be engaging, nimble, and FUN for people who'd rather have a smaller car with better fuel mileage.
epilonious 2:47PM (6/20/2007)
First off, considering the rows we've had before, You'll have to excuse me for presuming that if Hyundai released a turbo-4 RWD coupe for around 20K, you wouldn't get it. I can see you typing out your reasons to say it wouldn't actually get ~30MPG, or that it's impractical since it has a fastback, or that the interior was cheap, meanwhile the biggest reason will most probably be that it wasn't from VAG, so it's not for you.
Now that it's out of the way... the reason so many people have that "FWD is crap" mentality is because it is. The only cheap, compact RWDs in the states are pretty much the Mustang, the impreza, and the Miata/Solstice/Sky. Those just doesn't do it for a lot of people due to the solid rear axle and weight (mustang), the cost, complexity and weight (impreza), or teeny-ness (roadsters).
Meanwhile the rest of the "compact sports cars" are tarted-up economy models. Mzspeed3 is a Mz3 with a big engine, 6-spd, and an LSD. The late Celica was a corolla in drag. Your GTI is a Golf. A very nice golf with a nifty driveline, but still a golf. and on and on. So, the people going "FWD is crap" are rejecting the idea of Yet Another FF Economy Coupe. I mean, back in the early 80's there was the FF Rabbit and CRX, but the Corolla/Celica and Nissan and 2002 were FR, and the MR2 was even thrown into the mix.
Now in the US, an 18,000 FR coupe IS THE FANTASY. If you don't like the Mustang you are SOL, hence why it should come as no surprise that a bunch of the people seeking sporting cars in the 20K range get upset when presented with expensive versions of the Civic, Sentra, Corolla, Golf, and Lancer. To them, it's crap... and if them stating this makes you upset then it's tig bough bitties for you.
Dr. Woo 4:38PM (6/20/2007)
If Hyundai released a FR Tiburon that had a peppy engine and a quality interior, I'd be all over it. I'm not holding my breath, though. I've read the rumors, but until it's in the pipeline, I will remain skeptical.
I don't mind that my car is a Golf. The Golf is a great car, especially so in its fifth generation. To say these cars are tarted-up economy cars is the entire method to their madness. It started with VW and the Golf GTI, an idea they never thought would take off. People (like me) want it. The Golf is a practical people-mover for low cost, good mileage (notice I'm not saying the American Rabbit with its horrifying fuel economy), and is reliable. Add to that a great chassis and high-quality interior.
But then you drop the 2.0TFSI in there, change the drivetrain, modify the suspension, change some interior and exterior bits, and for a few grand more you have an exciting car on top of all that. It's exactly what I was looking for, and the thousands of buyers of the Si, GTI, MS3, Cooper S, etc. also found these cars to have the same qualities I wanted.
So based on your last paragraph there, I should take people's rabid FWD-hate as angst at being presented with a limited choice in inexpensive RWD vehicles? Like I said, if a car with my qualities was made in RWD, I'd buy it if it was a damn Mercury, for heaven's sake. But re-reading your first paragraph - a turbo four? - actually throws a chill up my spine. What a wondrous car that would be.