Volkwagen sharpens image

When somebody talks about Volkswagen, images of old Beetles, Combis and perhaps even Golfs spring to the fore.

Supercars built with carbon fibre and titanium would be the furthest thing on your mind when hearing the old VW acronym - until now.

Volkswagen is keen, we'll give it that much. It was about four years ago that the first concept of what was largley an unknown Vee-Dub supercar starred at the '97 Tokyo Motor Show.

Doubting Volkswagen's resolve, the general consensus for the car was promising - but most believed that it would never see the light of day.

Not only will the car see 300 units built in the first year of production (rumoured to be 2003), the car is today faster, lighter and sexier than when it was first rolled out.

Originally fitted with a four-wheel drive transmission, the W12 will go on sale as a traditional rear-wheel drive, mid-engined coupe and roadster. The difference between the two models will be a drop-top (roadster) and a hard top (coupe).

Purposefully shaped, the car wasn't designed for anything save the pleasure of driving. The flared Le Mans-style front wheel guards - complete with gills to cool the front discs - tell a tale of minimal drag.

The car's low stance, flowing lines and jet-fighter canopy have been created to cheat wind and little else. The W12's body panels are made from light weight carbon fibre, giving the car a dry weight of just 1200kg. That's only slightly more than a brand-new 1.8-litre Ford Laser.

While the rear-end isn't quite as pretty as the front, it is nonetheless crafted for aerodynamics. The inclusion of a rear wing was rejected after Volkwagen crafted the wedge-shaped chassis to create enough downforce to get by without one.

Also of note the mid-mounted engine, which sits behind the driver and can be seen through a transparent smoked glass boot-lid of sorts. Having opted for the mid-mounted engine, the cars handling characteristics are much improved when compared to a standard front-engined model.

Despite the car's amazing styling, incorporating Lamborghini-inspired vertically hinging doors, it's the engine which is the car's most intriguing aspect.

The W12 is exactly as it sounds. In essense, it's two engines linked together to create a radical 6.0-litre powerplant.

The 12-cylinder mill is comprised of two 3.0-litre VR6 engines sharing the same crankshaft and opposed at an angle of 72-degrees.

It has four valves-per-cylinder, quad overhead camshafts and is perhaps one of the smallest 12-cylinder powerplants ever seen. Despite this, it manages to crank out a solid 440kW @ 7000rpm and a massive 620Nm of torque @ 5800rpm.

Standing starts are blindingly quick - to 100km/h in 3.5 seconds - faster than most super-sports motorbikes. To cope with the large amounts of torque are equally large wheels. 19-inch in diametre, the rubber is plenty wide to cope with the power (255s up front and 275s at the rear).

With a top speed of 350km/h, there's not too many cars on the road (barring heavy modifications) that would be able to smoke the W12.

Also of note is the W12s record breaking drive recently. It set the world speed record in Nardo, Italy for distance covered in 24 hours. The W12 travelled 7085km in a day, averaging a speed of 183mp/h (294km/h). Not only does this say something about the reliability of the new W12 engine, but the car wasn't specifically set up for the event, either.

The issue that will be playing on the minds of VW execs will be how the company decides to market and launch the car. As history has shown, entering the exotic supercar market is tough - many have failed where predominantly Italian marques rule the roost. Sometimes, tradition means more than looks, top speed or technology.

The new W-class engine will also appear in other Vee-Dubs in future and will come in 8 and 10-cylinder configurations for models like the Passat and Bora.

Despite an uphill battle, the car is quite a coup for Volkswagen as its fast, sexy and comes packed with the latest configuration in engine design. While there is no firm release date for the W12 at the time of writing, rumours suggest that it could arrive in America in 2004. Expect to pay about $US200,000 ($396,000) when what could be the fastest ever VW hits the streets.