VW Debuts R GTI Concept at SEMA
Last year, Volkswagen unveiled some very cool variants of their Jetta, Passat and Touareg with a simple R badge. The new GTI wasn't available in the U.S. at the time. This year, however, the GTI made the trip to Vegas and in fact is the main attraction at VW's display.
The VW R GTI is a one-off produced by Chief Designer Derek Jenkins and his Volkswagen Design Center California crew. Add on a more powerful turbocharger to the stock car and somehow VW and partner APR wrangle 375 hp out of the hot hatchback. There are much larger tires and wheels – 19-inch at that – and a limited slip-differential to get all the power to the road, while Brembo brakes help stop the sucker. A much larger intercooler is needed for the turbo and that led to a change in the grille design that makes the GTI look pretty mean.
The GTI will probably never see these treatments at the factory but because VW used major aftermarket manufacturers and parts a few VW fanatics could probably replicate this in their own garage. We expect VW to develop an R version of the GTI as either a R32 or R36. Those are likely to feature a V-6 and not a turbo four-cylinder, but we’re hoping for the R GTI’s front end to make the transition regardless.
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