It's a Golf, Jim -- but not as we know it...

Okay, so we recently sampled the clever twin-charged Golf GT (see news and review here), now Volkswagen has just unveiled a totally bonkers version of the popular hatchback, and it's ominously dubbed the Golf GTI W12-650.

Our more astute readers may have already deduced that its alphanumeric nomenclature corresponds to the sizeable hardware it's packing beneath its bulging bodywork.

Yep, out with the four-cylinder donk and in with a W12 engine with a towering 650hp -- around 480kW. This is more grunt than even the substantially heavier, range-topping VW Phaeton and Audi A8, which also use the 12-cylinder motor.

Oh, and did we mention the 750Nm of torque? It's seemingly sufficient to have the pint-sized Golf trundling up vertical cliff faces.

Not surprisingly, VW claims the Golf GTI W12-650 will scamper from standstill to 100km/h in 3.7sec, and achieve a maximum speed of 325km/h. These are numbers that'll embarrass a Porsche 911 Turbo.

Interestingly, the engine isn't housed transversely under its stubby bonnet (as is the case with the donor car), but rather longitudinally behind the front seats. Drive is channeled to the rear wheels by a DSG (dual-clutch sequential) gearbox.

The latter fact is interesting in itself, as dual-clutch gearboxes weren't thought to be capable of handling such monumental power and torque outputs.

The 'telephone dial' wheels are the same design as those of the standard Golf GTI, but in this case they're 19-inchers, with 235mm wide rubber at the front and 295mm at the rear. We're guessing even this is barely sufficient to quell wheelspin.

Clearly visible from the pics is that the GTI W12-650 sports a wider track (by 160mm), which is made possible by wildly flared guards.

The bodywork is a bespoke steel and carbon-fibre affair, styled under VW design boss, Klaus Bischoff.

"We strived to retain a classic GTi appearance," said Bischoff. "The biggest challenge was to provide the mid-mounted engine with sufficient air without upsetting the silhouette to any great degree."

"The roof is part of an enormous diffuser, which provides sufficient downforce on the rear axle. It is made of carbon-fibre and forces air over and under the tail spoiler to obtain a perfect amount of pressure on the rear axle," added Bischoff.

The only question that remains is: Why? And the answer to that is: "We don't know".

VW hasn't revealed the exact purpose of the wacky one-off, but a production version seems unlikely.

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