The GTI W12 650: The Hottest Hatch

Motoring Channel Staff - 21/May/2007

Wörthersee, Austria — We just recently published the Golf R32 review on the Motoring Channel which is the most powerful Volkswagen Golf that money can buy, powered by a V6 engine. But a new Golf has now emerged, and though it will probably never be manufactured for sale, it nevertheless makes for interesting reading.

Powered by a gob smacking 6.0-litre, 12-cylinder engine, the rear-wheel drive Volkswagen GTI W12 650 is perhaps the most insane hot-hatch ever created. It looks completely unhinged thanks to its massive wheels, wide body work and scalloped doors, but making such a mammoth engine work reliably in such a small car requires heavy modification.

As Volkswagen's director of design Klaus Bischoff explained, the humble Golf underwent elective surgery to ensure it could handle the extra cubes: "In the rear, the showcar is 80 millimeters wider on each side. However, the body of the GTI easily takes this in. We already have a strong shoulder section here on the production model. We were able to draw it outward even more distinctly, like on a sports car."

This is how the small hatchback began its journey from 'civil commuter' to 'ball-tearing road warrior' and as Volkswagen explains, no Golf has ever been quite this powerful. Or wide.

With its door scoops and huge front end air dam, it is fairly obvious this off-the-chart Golf is packing more engine power than usual, and the quad exhaust system at the rear is yet another indicator. "Our goal was clearly defined – despite the somewhat dramatic engineering changes, it was very clear that the GTI was to remain a classic GTI," continued Bischoff.

"The design of the Golf is like a fingerprint. If it is erased, the entire character of the car is ruined. That could not be allowed to happen under any circumstances," stated Klaus Bischoff, and things like the headlamps, doors, hood and taillights were taken from the standard Golf.

With double the amount of cylinders as the Golf R32, this one-off creation is powered by a 6.0-litre twin turbo W12 engine that belts out750Nm of torque and a supercar-like 477kW (650hp). 

The Golf GTI W12's vital statistics are as follows:

Power: 477kW @ 6000rpm
Torque: 750Nm @ 4500rpm

Volkswagen calls it "a showcar, no more, no less" but adds that it demonstrates the enormous potential that such a car can offer. Whether it would be street legal and meet safety standards is another issue, but as a show car it makes a colossal statement. Volkswagen has sold almost 1.7 million Golf GTI models since its inception in 1976, and this new model was created to honor the true GTI fans of world.

The car's performance statistics are incredible: it will accelerate from zero to 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds, which is about as fast as Porsche 911 Turbo. It has a top speed of 325km/h (201mph) which would be sure to keep the police busy.

Like most hyper hatches that use massive engines and hardcore body and chassis modifications, the GTI W12 650's engine is located behind the driver, where the rear seat passengers would normally sit. The 6.0-litre twin turbo engine is longitudinally mounted in the rear of the car for a more useful front-to-rear weight balance, and power is fed exclusively to the rear wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission. So unlike all production Golfs that are front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, this version is rear-wheel drive, meaning that it's been developed to offer a real race car feel - and is more than capable of performing huge burnouts.

Chief designer Bischoff explained that because the engine is so large and mounted not under the hood, but behind the driver, a number of obstacles had to be overcome: "Our greatest challenge was to provide the six-litre mid-engine with sufficient air, without watering down the GTIs' side profile. In addition, provisions had to be made for sufficient down force at the rear axle on such a fast type of car. But for aesthetic reasons we did not want to put an enormous rear spoiler on the car."

In finding solutions for both these objectives was achieved in one fell swoop, said Bischoff: "The strongest Golf design elements are the C-pillars. But it is precisely here that we needed air ducts for engine cooling air. Therefore, the C-pillars were redesigned on short order to assume this function of routing air to the engine.

"In doing so," revealed chief designer Klaus Bischoff, "we simply made the rear windows turn inward. This created two ducts between the windows and the C pillars, on the left and right, through which air flows for engine cooling. We got the rest of the cooling air in front via the gigantic radiators and the ducts connected to them, as well as on the sides via air inlets on the side skirts." 

Volkswagen's hard core W12-powered twin turbo Golf is wider than the standard model, measuring 1.88 metres wide compared with the production models' 1.76 metre width. The GTI W12 650 is also 8cm lower than the production version to improve its high speed aerodynamics. Another aerodynamic modification is the addition of a carbon fibre roof diffuser, and Klaus Bischoff explained that he had prevented the lines of the GTI W12 from being ruined by a roof-mounted wing: "This GTI carries its wing internally. The roof is part of an enormous diffuser that supplies sufficient down force to the rear axle. It consists of a carbon fibre material and directs the air over and under the rear spoiler to achieve road grip, like in car racing."

Other aero modifications have been made to the front and rear aprons, also known as bumpers. The rear apron is characterised by enormous air inlets and outlets that help keep the mid-mounted engine bay ventilated, while a pair of dual chrome-plated tailpipes frame the air outlet at the rear. The front end of the car, meanwhile, features a somewhat comical air intake that looks like a gaping mouth, stretching very wide across the Golf's usually conservative face, while headlights and red-framed grille are more conventional designs that visually like this behemoth with the original Golf GTI.

Volkswagen explains the chassis components of this outrageous showcar had to be adapted directly from high level sports cars to deal with the insane amount of power the 6.0-litre mid-mounted engine  makes. Therefore, 235 aspect ratio tyres on 19-inch wheels have been used for the front axle, while the rear 19-inch alloy rims are given super-wide 295 rated tyres.

As well as the engine, chassis, and body work, Volkswagen has also paid close attention to the interior of this show-stopping Golf GTI, claiming that even the modern-day GTI driver would feel at home in the car. Leather Alcantara has been used on newly designed race car bucket seats and a new trio of round gauges in the middle of the instrument cluster are reminiscent of the original GTI. A number of race-inspired styling/operation cues have been added including transparent flip-up switch covers for important functions like ESP deactivation, and to circumvent accidental switch activations, the transparent covers have to be flipped up with the index finger before activating the switch underneath.

Volkswagen explains that another reference to car racing is the integrated fire extinguisher in place of a glove box, in case something (brakes, engine etc) catches on fire and needs dousing. Another interior change was the door trims, which have been completely strippedfor weight saving. Only screens are used, which provide a view of the internal workings of the door mechanisms.

The new Volkswagen Golf super car was created to showcase exactly how far the humble Golf could be taken in terms of both design and performance, and could provide clues as to how the new Golf R36 production model - powered by a 3.6-litre V6 - will be styled.

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