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2020 VW Golf Widebody Looks Like the King of Hot Hatches

Even before the birth of the new Supra, you could always argue that sports cars weren't dead, they just transformed into hot hatchbacks. Although the crown is disputed by many contenders, it's often said (somewhat falsely) that the Golf GTI is the original hot hatch.
2020 VW Golf Widebody rendering 2 photos
Photo: Jota Automotive
2020 VW Golf Widebody Looks Like the King of Hot Hatches
The Mk5 GTI put the fun and build quality on the table while the Mk7 upped the game in the everyday usability department while also offering some legendary track-focused versions. It's said that the Golf 8 GTI will be revealed about two months from now, and it could redefine the segment in a couple of ways.

You can tell that tuners are itching to grab one and mess it up. Only about a week after deliveries started for the regular Golf, we already had one riding on air suspension and Rotiform wheels. Given how popular widebody kits have become and the importance played by the GTI, a few shops are likely to put two and two together.

For the purposes of inspiring such a thing, we offer this rendering by Jota Automotive. We think this design is based on two things: race cars and a beloved Golf R project that never saw production.

There's quite a few racing Golfs around. The most well known is the TCR, but there's also the touring car and APR's 550 horsepower RLMS monster. The rendering also looks a bit like the SEAT Cupra e-Racer, which is a Leon EV.

But the front end design we see is more like that of the famous Golf R400. Unveiled in China as a concept, this was supposed to be VW's 400 horsepower halo car, but the Dieselgate scandal cut all funding.

We're still not 100% sure what powers the new Golf hot hatch, but 245 horsepower should come from a mild-hybrid version of the 2-liter turbo engine. Various rumors have long suggested that the GTI will develop up to 300 horsepower through special editions models, thus better competing with the Megane RS and Civic Type R.



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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

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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