This is what happens when you give the Wolfsburg brain trust an unlimited budget and tell them to build a concept car for a tuner show: Utter. Madness.
It’s called the “Design Vision GTI,” and the 500-horsepower beast of a Volkswagen rolled out to the throng of V-Dub obsessives at the annual Wörthersee show in Germany this week.
VW has a habit of unveiling a wild concept at the show each year, and the Design Vision GTI honors tradition by swapping the GTI’s perfectly capable turbocharged four-pot engine for a twin-turbocharged V6. It’s good for 503 horsepower and a grin-inducing, ass-kicking 413 pound-feet of torque. Stomp it and you’ll hit 60 in 3.9 seconds. Putting that much twist through the front wheels alone is too crazy even for these guys, so VW raided the Audi parts bin for an all-wheel-drive system that keeps torque steer and rubber melting to a minimum.
More impressive than the engine and drivetrain swap is what VW’s designers did inside and out. It’s a GTI reimagined for the next decade, with splitters and spoilers joining a widened stance, dropped ride height and that massive body crease to make the li’l hatch look more like the Audi R8 than an over-boosted commuter car. The interior wouldn’t look out of place in a Lamborghini, what with all that carbon fiber and alcantara. And get a load of the two massive displays that feed the driver lap times, a circuit map and a network that connects with other vehicles on the track to show who’s first and who’s the first loser.
This being a concept, the Vision GTI isn’t destined for production. But that engine and interior tech has a chance of finding its way into future Volkswagens, Audis and Porsches.
