A Photo Tour of the VW Group’s 2011 Wörthersee Festival with 150 Images

ADVERTISEMENTS

For the past thirty year, tens of thousands of enthusiasts of Volkswagen Group cars assemble on the shores of Lake Worthersee in Austria to participate in the largest festival of its kind in the world. Over the years, Volkswagen and the other brands of the German group including Audi, Seat and Skoda, have used the show to unveil special concepts, new models and studies that hint at future production versions or accessories.

At this year’s event (June 1 to 4, 2011), the VW Group prepared several vehicles for the festival including the production VW Golf GTI 35 Edition with 235HP, the VW Golf Cabriolet GTI and R concepts, the wild 503HP Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro study, and the Skoda Fabia RS 2000 Convertible prototype. As you may have noticed, the company didn’t show much love for its Seat brand which was left to display its current lineup.

Read more »

Post Title → A Photo Tour of the VW Group’s 2011 Wörthersee Festival with 150 Images

ADVERTISEMENTS

VW Golf GTI Cabriolet Concept Live from Wörthersee. Should it be Built?

ADVERTISEMENTS

Yesterday, we brought you the first images of Volkswagen’s Golf GTI Cabriolet study but today we have live photos from the car’s world premiere at the Wörthersee meeting in Austria along with official information on the concept.

The hotted-up convertible is based on the standard Golf GTI with power coming from the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine delivering 210-horsepower and 280 Nm (207-lbs/ft) of peak torque at 1.800 rpm.

Volkswagen says the open-air model’s performance matches that of the closed-top GTI with a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 7 seconds and a top speed of around 240km/h (149 mph).

Read more »

Post Title → VW Golf GTI Cabriolet Concept Live from Wörthersee. Should it be Built?

ADVERTISEMENTS

Volkswagen Unwraps Two More Golf R Concepts at Wörthersee Tour

ADVERTISEMENTS

If there’s one thing die-hard Volkswagen fans visiting this week’s annual Wörthersee Tour in Austria aren’t going to complain about, is the lack of Golf concepts. We have already shown you the Golf GTI Cabriolet and Golf R Cabriolet and now we bring you two more studies based on the flagship Golf R hatchback. The two Golf R Color concepts were first shown at the Geneva Salon this past March and were created to demonstrate the numerous customization possibilities. Read more »

Post Title → Volkswagen Unwraps Two More Golf R Concepts at Wörthersee Tour

ADVERTISEMENTS

Volkswagen Brings Golf GTI Cabriolet Study as well to Wörthersee Meet

ADVERTISEMENTS

And the news just keeps dropping in from the largest annual GTI Meet in the world at lake Wörthersee in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia. Aside from the 270-horsepower strong Golf R Cabriolet concept that we told you about earlier today, Volkswagen also brought along a GTI study of the recently launched drop-top model.

We’re still short on information as Volkswagen has not yet published any details, but it’s safe to say that the Golf GTI Convertible is powered by either the standard Golf GTI hatchback’s 210HP 2.0-liter TFSI or the Golf GTI 35th Anniversary Edition’s 235HP 2.0-liter turbocharged unit sourced from the Golf R. Obviously power is transferred to the front wheels either through a six-speed manual gearbox or VW’s DSG transmission. The car also appears to be riding on a lowered suspension.

Read more »

Post Title → Volkswagen Brings Golf GTI Cabriolet Study as well to Wörthersee Meet

ADVERTISEMENTS

Volkswagen Debuts Golf R Cabriolet Study with 270-Horses at Wörthersee

ADVERTISEMENTS

This year’s Wörthersee meet in Austria is turning out to be quite an event for the Germans with the Volkswagen Group brands churning out one concept after the other. Following the debut of the Skoda Fabia RS 2000 Convertible, the German group pulled the veils off the Golf R Cabriolet study.

Using the recently introduced new Golf Cabriolet as a base, the designers and engineers of the Volkswagen R GmbH division built a convertible version of the gutsy Golf R hatchback.

Just like its closed top counterpart, the soft-top Golf R Cabriolet is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine putting out 270-horses and 350Nm (258.2 lb-ft) of peak torque from a low 2,500 rpm. The standard sprint to 100km/h (62mph) from standstill comes in less than 6.0 seconds while top speed is limited at 250km/h (155mph).

Read more »

Post Title → Volkswagen Debuts Golf R Cabriolet Study with 270-Horses at Wörthersee

ADVERTISEMENTS

VW Releases Golf GTI Edition 35 Specs and Price, Says it gets a Detuned Version of the Golf R’s Engine [with Video]

ADVERTISEMENTS

Developed to celebrate 35 years since the launch of the original Volkswagen Golf GTI in 1976, the GTI Edition 35 will make its premiere at the Worthersee Tour (June 1-4) in Austria. A 2.0-liter turbocharged petrol engine that develops 235-horsepower and 300 Nm of torque (221 lb-ft), 25HP and 20 Nm more than the standard GTI, powers the limited edition hot-hatch.

However, Volkswagen says the engine is not an upgraded version of the standard GTI's unit but a detuned version of the AWD Golf R's four-pot, adapted for a FWD setup. With 25 more horsepower than the standard GTI and a power-to-weight ratio of 6 kg/hp, the Golf GTI Edition 35 reaches a top speed of 247 km/h (153 mph) and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.6 seconds (gains of 7 km/h and 0.3 seconds respectively).

Read more »

Post Title → VW Releases Golf GTI Edition 35 Specs and Price, Says it gets a Detuned Version of the Golf R’s Engine [with Video]

ADVERTISEMENTS

VW Salesman Likes to Bang and Jump on Doors

ADVERTISEMENTS

As the adage goes, there is no such thing as bad publicity and it is better to be reviled and even mocked at than to be ignored. In the case of Larry Roesch Volkswagon (that’s how the name of the German automaker is spelled on the dealer’s Youtube account), making the automotive ridiculist was intentional to grab some media and customer attention. And since we’re here talking about it, you could say that their goal has been achieved…

The VW dealer has published a series of intentionally cheap and corny commercials starring one of the company’s salesmen, Nick Pontarelli. In two of the videos, Pontarelli abuses a Volkswagen Golf GTI and a Jetta by forcefully shutting and climbing onto the doors to prove the cars' ‘German’ strength and quality. His final statement is “try that with a Hyundai or a Honda”. Watch the clips after the break.

Read more »

Post Title → VW Salesman Likes to Bang and Jump on Doors

ADVERTISEMENTS

2012 VW Beetle to Participate in New Car Sharing Scheme in Hanover

ADVERTISEMENTS

To be completely frank, what caught our attention in Volkswagen’s latest press release (and probably yours in this post) on the new pilot car-sharing program called Quicar, wasn’t the news itself but the special livery of the 2012 Beetle shown in the promotional set of photos. Nevertheless, since we already told you the headline here’s the rest of the story on Volkswagen’s new car sharing concept that will take place in the German city of Hanover (or Hannover). Read more »

Post Title → 2012 VW Beetle to Participate in New Car Sharing Scheme in Hanover

ADVERTISEMENTS

New Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 35 Comes with 235-Horsepower

ADVERTISEMENTS

This year, Volkswagen is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the introduction of the original Golf GTI in 1976, and to mark the event, the German carmaker has unleashed a special version, named “Edition 35”. As with the “Edition 30” launched in 2006, the latest anniversary model benefits from an upgraded and more powerful engine as well as discreet styling tweaks that differentiate it from the standard Golf GTI.

Starting with the mechanical updates, the GTI's 2.0-liter turbocharged TSI engine is tuned to deliver an extra 25 horsepower, for a total of 235 horsepower. The increase in output should improve the hot hatch’s performance, but Volkswagen has not yet revealed any official figures, simply stating that the car will be more fun to drive. The automaker didn't say whether the “Edition 35” will feature a lower suspension than the stock car, as was the case with the “Edition 30”.

Read more »

Post Title → New Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 35 Comes with 235-Horsepower

ADVERTISEMENTS

VW Releases Mega Gallery of the New Golf Cabriolet

ADVERTISEMENTS

Following its Geneva show world premiere in March, Volkswagen has now released a comprehensive photo gallery of its new Golf Cabriolet. Featuring a fully automatic soft top that retracts in 9 seconds and up to speeds of 30 km/h (18.6 mph), the Golf Cabriolet continues the tradition of its three predecessors, produced between 1979 and 2002 in over 680,000 units. Read more »

Post Title → VW Releases Mega Gallery of the New Golf Cabriolet

ADVERTISEMENTS

VW Remembers its First Diesel-Powered Golf, we Compare it with its Modern Day Successors

ADVERTISEMENTS

In 1976, just two years after the introduction of the original Golf Mk1 that was designed to replace the Beetle, Volkswagen presented the first diesel version of its compact model, the Golf D. It was powered by a 1.5-liter four-cylinder diesel engine that put out 50HP at 5,000 rpm and 80Nm (59 lb-ft) of peak torque at 3,000 rpm.

The most economical Golf of its time returned a combined fuel economy of 6.5 lt /100km, equal to 36.2 mpg US and was able to complete the 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint in 19 seconds while reaching a top speed of 141 km/h (88 mph).

Over the years the Volkswagen Group invested in this particular engine technology and today, buyers of the current, sixth generation of the Golf can choose from a variety of diesel powerplants ranging in output from 105HP to 170HP. And the results are quite impressive when you compare the original Golf D from 1976 to its modern day successors.

Read more »

Post Title → VW Remembers its First Diesel-Powered Golf, we Compare it with its Modern Day Successors

ADVERTISEMENTS

Kylie Minogue Promotes the 2012 VW Golf Cabriolet in New Ad

ADVERTISEMENTS

It appears that carmakers have a love-connection with Australian pop singer, Kylie Minogue. Following a recent collaboration with Lexus for the European launch of the Lexus CT200h, the Melbourne-born star signed an advertising partnership with Volkswagen to promote the new Golf Cabriolet. Minogue has already filmed the first TV commercial for Wolfsburg's new convertible model that aired in Germany this week. Read more »

Post Title → Kylie Minogue Promotes the 2012 VW Golf Cabriolet in New Ad

ADVERTISEMENTS