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This Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 Engine

If you're a fan of the really old Top Gear shows, you probably already know about this crazy hot hatch. But do you truly understand how insane it is that Volkswagen built a Golf GTI with a 650 horsepower W12 engine?
This Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 Engine 11 photos
Photo: Alex Penfold/Instagram
This Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 EngineThis Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 EngineThis Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 EngineThis Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 EngineThis Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 EngineThis Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 EngineThis Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 EngineThis Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 EngineThis Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 EngineThis Crazy Volkswagen Golf GTI Had a 650 HP W12 Engine
The W12-650 concept of 2007 is probably one of the reasons why the Mk5 GTI was more iconic than the models that came directly before and after. It shows that the wildest dreams can become reality if a major automaker is willing to put in the hours and euros. Why do that? So the fans can feel important.

Volkswagen is well known for using the parts bin approach to engineering and building its cars. It's a way to keep costs down. However, the purpose of the Golf GTI W12-650 is not to be an alternative to a Bentley, but to give the hot hatch segment an unhealthy steroid injection.

The story goes that Volkswagen wanted to make something special for the yearly GTI Meet on the shores of Lake Worthersee. With only two months to go, the German automaker combined the engine from a Bentley Continental GT, the rear axle, and brakes from a Lamborghini Gallardo, the front brakes from an RS4, and the Phaeton luxury sedan's gearbox.

The streamlined and simple body of the Mk5 GTI was massively widened, by 160mm or 6.3 inches. They lowered the suspension by 70mm and also fitted gigantic wheels. Even so, the handling was twitchy due to the short wheelbase of the compact. That's to be expected when you consider they gave the W12 as much power as today's Lamborghini Urus, more than a 2021 Panamera Turbo S or even Bentayga Speed, currently the most powerful model with a W12.

These photos by renowned car photographer Alex Penfold give us a fresh look at the GTI supercar from inside the museum in Wolfsburg. Thanks to these shots, we now notice that our childhood hero hatch had an air scoop on the roof and air intakes shaped just like the Audi R8.


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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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