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Volkswagen Golf GTE Sport Concept Makes American Debut at LA Auto Show

If the Dieselgate scandal has shown us anything, it's that diesel engines are not the answer. For a while, they bridged the gap created by high fuel prices and tight CO2 emissions regulations. But manufacturers are likely to phase them out in the coming years. That will also affect the diesel performance market, where cars like the Golf GTD and Audi SQ5 TDI have been making headlines. However, Vdub is showing us that it's more than ready for change with the Golf GTE Sport concept. Unpimp my hyper hatch!
Volkswagen Golf GTE Sport Concept 19 photos
Photo: Volkswagen
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To say that we like this thing would be a terrible understatement. The GTI from the future has the same butterfly door design as the XL1. If our time with the BMW i8 has taught us anything, it's that everybody thinks a car with such doors is a "supercar."

The cool thing is that the Golf GTE Sport has the power to back the looks. Thanks to a combination of a 1.6-liter TSI engine borrowed from the WRC and electric motors, we're looking at a 400 PS machine. There's one 113 hp electric motor for each axle, so it has more non-combustible power than a regular GTI.

We first saw this wild machine at the Wortherse festival back in May, but it's now making its auto show debut on U.S. soil at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show. With America out for German blood, nobody will praise the GTE Sport. We think that's a real shame, as the world needs the Tesla Model S of hot hatchbacks. Once you bury your foot in the carpet, sixty-two miles per hour arrives in just 4.3 seconds.

Chances of it being mass produced? Next to zero, as Volkswagen is borrowing tens of billions just to keep itself in business after the TDI scandal. However, Peugeot Sport is working on a version of the 308 hatch that also combines a 1.6L turbo and electricity to deliver 400 horsepower.

In any case, the 2015 Golf isn't selling. So bringing a Golf-like concept to Los Angeles is as pointless as launching a new type of fork in China.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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