This weekend’s Volkstravaganza in Wörthersee, Austria, will play host to the first public appearance of VW’s radical red GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo. For the brand’s loyal followers that can’t be there, VW has released these sweet, highly detailed renderings and a pile of info that goes beyond what we learned when conceptual sketches were circulated last week.
To recap: The GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo concept is strictly a show car that builds on VW’s 2013 Wörthersee star, the Design Vision GTI. The chopped-top GTI was originally created as a purely digital vehicle for Sony PS3’s Gran Turismo 6. But just as Mercedes-Benz built a life-size version of its similarly missioned Vision Gran Turismo sports-car concept—which stole last year’s L.A. auto show—VW decided to make this one a reality, too.
With its malevolent grin and widened body, the styling is a clear evolution of the Design Vision GTI’s, and this one adds a pretty bitchin’ basket-handle C-pillar and massive rear spoiler. The spoiler is perhaps pure video-game whimsy, but we do like its angled struts. Unlike the Design Vision GTI, the GTI Roadster has scissor doors, a chopped windshield, and, of course, no roof. But like its predecessor, it’s powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter VR6 engine that sends 503 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels via a seven-speed DSG. VW claims that the car weighs 3133 pounds, can hit 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, and runs to a top speed of 192 mph.
The 98.2-inch span between the GTI Roadster’s wheels is shorter than those of both the Design Vision GTI and the production car, the latter of which has a wheelbase of 103.6 inches. The car measures 163.7 inches long overall—some four inches shorter than a factory GTI—is 42.9 inches tall, and 74.6 inches wide. The paint, VW says, is a twist on the familiar Tornado Red fittingly dubbed Gran Turismo Red, while most of the trim is done in matte-finish carbon fiber. Gloss black is limited to the grille and the mesh for the hood vent. Twenty-inch center-lock wheels wear 235/35 rubber in the front and 275/30 out back, and the front and rear brake rotors measure 15.0 and 14.0 inches.
A carbon-fiber monocoque accommodates two people, while a central member that runs above a fire extinguisher partitions off a pair of racing seats fitted with five-point harnesses. The seats and steering wheel are swathed in faux suede, and the instrument cluster is mounted atop the long steering column in a nod to the car’s racing purpose.
- Volkswagen GTI Research: Photos, Reviews, News, and More
- Hot-Hatch Comparo! 2015 Volkswagen GTI vs. Ford Focus ST
- Volkswagen Design Vision GTI Concept Photos and Info: Golf R, Schmolf R
We’ll finish by simply saying that we like it a lot. Like, a lot lot. You’ll be able to download the digital car for GT6 starting in mid-June, and you can be sure we’ll bring you photos of the real thing just as soon as they’re available.
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