Volkswagen had already confirmed plans to put its 395-hp Golf R 400 concept into production, following its auto show debut in Beijing last month. But speaking at the Vienna Motor Symposium in Austria last week, Volkswagen’s development chief Heinz-Jakob Neusser has suggested (via Car and Driver) that the model, based on the 290-horsepower 2015 Golf R, may end up making more than 400 horsepower.
From a 2.0-liter engine, that would comfortably give it the highest specific output of any production 2.0-liter car, and make Mercedes-Benz's 355-horse A45 AMG (and the CLA45 AMG sedan sold in the U.S.) look... well, a little weak. The R 400 concept also boasted a torque output of 332 pound-feet (identical to the Mercedes--engine capacity is presumably a limiting factor here) and a 3.9-second 0-62 mph sprint. Top speed is limited (limited!) to 174 mph--though as Car and Driver points out, these numbers may now be pessimistic should the suggested 400-plus horsepower output come to fruition.
No price figure has yet been suggested, but the re-worked bodywork, heavily modified engine, revised chassis and carbon fiber weight-saving components are unlikely to come cheap. Still, if there's one thing that seems to climb at the same rate as a Golf's power output, it's the Golf's sticker price...
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