The V6 TSI engine develops 369 pound-feet of torque from as low as 2000 rpm, with a maximum figure of 413 lb-ft at 4000 rpm.
Volkswagen of America, Inc. showed off its “Design Vision GTI” at the Los Angeles Auto Show. First debuted at Germany’s Wörthersee festival, the brand’s premier enthusiast gathering, the stunning 503 horsepower, 186 mph concept shows the bandwidth of the new Mark 7 GTI.
The design team, led by Klaus Bischoff (Head of Design of Volkswagen Brand), drew the C-pillars and sills outward as autonomous body elements, thus creating space for substantially wider front and rear tracks, as well as specially developed 20-inch wheels (with 235 tires in the front and 275s at the rear). The “Design Vision GTI” can reach 62 mph from a standing start in just 3.9 seconds and looks like it could start tearing up racetracks tomorrow.
Although the new GTI has plenty of power in standard form, with up to 230 hp available on the European Performance model, the “Design Vision GTI” ups the ante with 503 hp, developed at 6500 rpm.
Just like the engine in the regular GTI, the concept car has a turbocharged and direct-injection TSI engine — except that this is a 3.0-liter V6 using twin turbochargers instead of a 2.0-liter four cylinder with a single turbo.
Two three-way catalytic converters are arranged close to the engine to optimize emissions behavior. The V6 TSI engine develops 369 pound-feet of torque from as low as 2000 rpm, with a maximum figure of 413 lb-ft at 4000 rpm.
All this power and torque is distributed to the wheels via a DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission and an all-wheel-drive system. With this powertrain and a specially tuned chassis, the “Design Vision GTI” eats any type of racetrack. On a dragstrip, it will sprint from zero to 62 mph in an impressive 3.9 seconds
In order to slow this super-powerful GTI, Volkswagen fitted it with large carbon-ceramic brake discs, sized 15.0 inches up front and 14.0 inches at the back. The ceramic brake discs and red-painted brake calipers peek through the spokes of custom 20-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, which are 8.5J wide at the front and 9.5J at the back.
The “Design Vision GTI” wheels, derived from the “Austin” GTI design, feature integrated blades that are designed to vent brake heat through the wheel openings. The wheel bolts are covered to give the appearance of a center-lock design.
