Gran Turismo is fun. In part, it’s a fun game because you get to drive stuff you’ll never afford, and because some of that stuff is so wild and out there that it’d never be practical enough for the real world anyway. Volkswagen, the most sensible of German brands, got a little crazy back in 2014 when it introduced the GTI Roadster concept into the game. The concept was partly for the game (way back on the PS3 at the time of the car’s 2014 release), and I distinctly remember going home to my PlayStation 3 after my summer job to try out VW’s new car. I still have my PS3, and VW still has the GTI, so, close to the GTI’s 50th birthday, it’s worth looking back at one of the wilder GTI concepts ever done.
The Volkswagen GTI Roadster was everything a GTI wasn’t
Volkswagen
Volkswagen
The GI was initially created purely as a concept, intended to just be something fun for teenagers to run around in after school. “When Sony asked us if we would develop a Vision GTI vehicle exclusively for the game to mark the 15th anniversary of Gran Turismo we didn’t hesitate for a moment,” said VW at the time. Then-Head of Design at Volkswagen, Klaus Bischoff: “The Vision GT project offered a wonderful opportunity to sketch out extreme ideas and design elements of the GTI that are portrayed as vibrantly, dynamically and emotionally as possible. “
It’s not, however, made immediately clear why VW chose to make the open-roof concept for real, but the brand did say at the time that it used an in-house competition among young designers to arrive at the final product. Over the course of the design process, submissions were judged by both VW and Sony design teams, and once the final version was ready, it was shown on Gran Turismo on May 26, 2014. A few days later, the real deal was shown at the GTI festival in Reifnitz, Austria.
A radical design departure
Volkswagen
The GTI Roadster is in every way something that the GTI wasn’t. Where the Golf GTI was restrained, an “adult” hot hatch, the roadster was every bit a GTI, with not a shred of Golf left in it. That is, except for the platform. The concept was built in part to showcase the then-new MQB platform VW used on so many of its cars. Dimensionally, it was much saller than any of those, with a low 42.9-inch height, and 74.6-inch width, the Roadster’s 98.2-inch wheelbase was shorter and smaller in every direction than a production GTI.
The GTI Roadster itself is a two-seater, and any of the hatchback’s practicality was tossed out in favor of a huge rear wing and a low front splitter. The monstrous wheels are something that would only work on a concept, measuring 20 inches in diameter and riding on hilariously wide 235/35 ZR20 front and 275/30 ZR20 rear tires. Huge 15-inch brakes sat behind them.
VW also tweaked the iconic Tornado Red GTI hue a bit for the concept, resulting in an “intensive metallic color” the brand called “Gran Turismo Red.” The automaker wanted “a very provocative and aggressive red. The car should look fast, even when it is standing still, and the paint should emphasize its surface contours.”
Under the hood
Volkswagen
Volkswagen
As with any performance car concept, the wildest stuff is under the bodywork. Unhindered by emissions (though that never bothered VW in the past) and the restraints of budgets and product planners, VW engineers got to create their ultimate “what if” GTI. The convertible was powered by a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine that made 503 horsepower and a robust 413 pound-feet of torque. All of it, per VW, fell between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm, and from just 2,000 revs, 369 lb-ft of that torque was available.Â
At the time, VW was big on hyping its DSG dual-clutch gearboxes, so that’s what this got, paired with the brand’s 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system. A real lightweight at 3,133 pounds, the Roadster got from 0 to 60 mph in an estimated 3.5 seconds, going on to a top speed of 192 mph. Hypothetically.
Volkswagen
Inside the Roadster was, if you were short, most of your head. There were also a pair of gullwing doors and two Alcantara seats in the cockpit, which was bisected by a fire extinguisher. There were also cool touches like a steering-column mounted display and your usual GTI-focused accents (though plaid seats were notably absent).
The GTI Roadster is a GTI we’ll never see again
Volkswagen
The GTI Roadster isn’t something you get to make every day, and it’s certainly something we won’t see from VW again. Brand’s concepts don’t make use of big gas engines like this, and the GTI feels as if it’s on its last legs. The small hatch has faced some scrutiny in the US market following slower sales and a largely underwhelming eighth generation. But, if, like me, you’ve got a PS3 at home, you can still drive this one.
About the author
Chase Bierenkoven
Senior Editor, Autoblog