Volkswagen Design Vision GTI concept

Volkswagen has revealed the Design Vision GTI, a new super-Golf that will make its debut at the annual Worthersee tuning festival in Austria. Powered by a fire-breathing six-cylinder biturbo engine producing a vicious 370kW, it develops more than double the power of the regular GTI's 162 kilowatts.

Designed for track work, the racing GTI naturally comes with a fire-extinguisher and five-point safety harnesses, while the rear seats have been replaced by an X-shaped strut brace to improve body stiffness.

Lower, wider and considerably more aggressive than the just-launched seventh generation VW Golf GTI, the Design Vision GTI's 3.0-litre twin-turbo, direct injected petrol V6 generates 370kW at 6500rpm and a whopping 560Nm of torque at 4000 to 6000rpm, enabling the aerodynamic ultra-hatch to sprint from 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds -- on par with many exotic cars. The last V6-powered Golf sold in Australia was the 2010 model R32.

A top whack of 300km/h would also give see the brutal hot-hatch whip around the famous Nurburgring road-circuit seriously quickly.

A dual-clutch gearbox changes gears automatically or via ergonomically designed steering wheel paddle shifters, and the pocket rocket features an all-wheel drive system to distribute torque between the front and rear axles.

The fierce German two-seater hatchback rides on big 20-inch alloy rims shod with 235/35 front and 275/30 rear treads, while deceleration is courtesy of massive ceramic brake rotors. The front disc brakes measure 380mm in diameter, the rear 356mm, chomped hard by red-painted calipers.

As has been a tradition at the Worthersee festival in Austria, the Volkswagen Group reveals a highly-strung concept car for the expected 15,000 strong (and GTI-mad) crowd, and the Design Vision GTI does not disappoint, it's twin turbo engine shrouded draped in race-car inspired body work.

Based on the MQB platform that underpins regular and GTI Golf models, the VW Design Vision GTI's exterior was created under the auspices of Volkswagen's head of design, Klaus Bischoff, who has said the concept's mission was to give a preview of a future performance model.

"The team was to allow for a spectacular glance into the future of the GTI - in other words, to realise a vision," said Bischoff.

Taking on the persona of a race car, the Design Vision GTI features a wide body kit that integrates huge lateral air intakes in the front apron, designed to cool the massive ceramic brakes. It also features a large carbon front spoiler, or 'blade' in VW-talk.

Updated headlights that incorporate an "evil eye" motif favoured by tuners are joined by a horizontal red pinstripe, a trademark of the Golf GTI .

The car sits lower to the ground than regular GTIs and is wider by 71mm (1799 to 1870mm), lower by 57mm (1442 to 1385mm) and shorter by 15mm (4268 to 4253mm) thanks to the assertive new body work. All these changes are designed to make the more aerodynamic and stable.

Despite all the changes to the car, including the deep rear diffuser, large roof spoiler, and bold cut-outs that begin behind the front wheel arches, run along the door sills then rise to the roof behind the doors, the car still has a distinct GTI aesthetic.

"We wanted to bring out the design elements of the GTI as concisely, dynamically and emotionally as we could so as to get to the heart of the fascination that this car emanates," stated Bischoff.

The hardcore three-door hatchback also gets a funky, futuristic interior dominated by sharp angles and bold but simple design cues. Decked out in Nappa leather, the car features an advanced 'social racing' communication suite designed to talk to other race cars on the track and provide the driver with detailed information about how fast they're lapping, where they are on the circuit and so forth.

The steering wheel has motorsport influences, with the engine start button and engine performance toggles located on the wheel. The radical Golf concept even has small cameras integrated into the A-pillars so spectators can watch the thrills and spills of amateur racing as they happen.

“The design of the interior is the area where we expect unusual technical and formal innovations. That's where we set the trends.”

The chances of the Design Vision GTI entering production are slim, though Volkswagen doesn't dismiss it entirely, saying the "'Super-GTI' could start tomorrow in a racing series!".

Read the first drive of the Volkswagen GTI at motoring.com.au