Volkswagen considering additional R models

If you're in the market for a German hot hatch and the GTI just won't do it for you, Volkswagen offers the more potent Golf R as well. And if you live in markets that aren't the United States, you can get your hands on the Scirocco R, too. But word has it that VW is keen to expand its flagship performance line further.

Australian auto news site Motoring.com.au cites VW powertrain chief Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neusser as saying that additional R models are both technically possible and under consideration. The Golf R 400 concept (pictured above) that was showcased in Beijing is one possibility, but Neusser hinted that R versions of the Polo and Passat were also under consideration. That is, at least, for the European and other markets where the Polo and Euro-spec Passat are sold. VW labels its rally machine as the Polo R WRC but has only offered a short run of roadgoing Polo Rs in Europe, and offered a similarly exclusive R32 version of the previous Passat with 300 horsepower.

Although details would still evidently need to be worked out, Neusser indicated that a new longitudinal six-cylinder engine was under development, and that turbocharging that engine could end up powering new performance models (though more likely the Passat than the pint-sized Polo, naturally) – especially when paired to 4Motion all-wheel drive: something which the Golf R offers but the Scirocco R does not.

Though technically feasible, Neusser says that the prospect of production additional R variants would likely come down more to commercial considerations than technical ones. In other words, VW could make more R models, if only the public would want them.