Photo: Volkswagen
Diesel hot hatches have taken on a life of their own the past year. As more and more people are put off by their huge fuel costs, sales of cars like the Golf GTD have risen. Ford has just launched its own rival, a Focus ST with a 2-liter diesel engine, and so has Peugeot, the 308 GT. Understandably, Volkswagen, who were the first to make a super-TDI, now want to offer more.
In an interview with Motoring, Volkswagen's head of powertrain development, Hanno Jelden, said the company is thinking of adding an R version of the GTD. Confused by the badging? We are, but the formula is actually kind of simple.
Currently, the Golf R has a 300 PS engine sending power to all four wheels, as opposed to just the front ones like on the GTD. Volkswagen can easily swap the petrol engine for a new diesel that will blow the competition away.
Performance would be hugely impressive, since the heavier Passat needs 6.1 seconds to reach 100 km/h before hitting a top speed of 240 km/h (149 mph). In a Golf, the 240 PS diesel's time would drop to around 5.5 seconds.
Just to give you an idea, a new Passat 2.0 TDI with 150 PS weighs almost exactly 1.5 tons. With the 240 PS biturbo TDI, that rises to an almost unbelievable 1,721 kilograms. Installing a Passat motor into the Golf is not that hard, since the two share mounting points, but it cold push the R to about 1.6 tons.
If you think the Golf GTD R is a bad idea or, on the contrary, would like to buy one, let us know with a short comment. What do we think? It can't possible be any heavier than the old 3.2-liter V6.
Currently, the Golf R has a 300 PS engine sending power to all four wheels, as opposed to just the front ones like on the GTD. Volkswagen can easily swap the petrol engine for a new diesel that will blow the competition away.
BiTurbo TDI
That engine is already built and available in the new Passat B8. A 2-liter TDI biturbo unit pushes out 240 PS (176 kW) and 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of torque. That's 56 PS and 120 Nm more than the GTD. It's impossible to keep all that torque in check on a front-wheel drive car, which is just as well, since the Golf R has all-wheel drive.Performance would be hugely impressive, since the heavier Passat needs 6.1 seconds to reach 100 km/h before hitting a top speed of 240 km/h (149 mph). In a Golf, the 240 PS diesel's time would drop to around 5.5 seconds.
So why haven't they built it already?
An efficient, very fast Golf with mountains of torque seems like a great idea. But there are a few problems. Jelden said the 2.0 BiTDI is the heaviest engine fitted to an MQB car at the moment.Just to give you an idea, a new Passat 2.0 TDI with 150 PS weighs almost exactly 1.5 tons. With the 240 PS biturbo TDI, that rises to an almost unbelievable 1,721 kilograms. Installing a Passat motor into the Golf is not that hard, since the two share mounting points, but it cold push the R to about 1.6 tons.
If you think the Golf GTD R is a bad idea or, on the contrary, would like to buy one, let us know with a short comment. What do we think? It can't possible be any heavier than the old 3.2-liter V6.
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