For three decades, the annual GTI-Treffen held at the Austrian Lake Wörthersee has been one of the highlights of the European calendar for Volkswagen enthusiasts.
Throughout that time, Wörthersee has increasingly become a venue where Volkswagen communes with its closest fans and presents an array of concepts to assess market viability.
It's where the company trotted out its now legendary Golf GTI W12-650 concept in 2007. The concept involved taking the 650 bhp bi-turbo 5,998 cc W12 engine used in the Volkswagen Phaeton and squeezing it into a Golf GTI three-door bodyshell to create the fastest Golf on the planet. The sprint from standstill to 62 mph took just 3.7 seconds and it had a maximum speed of 201.8 mph.
This year it showed five new cars: the Golf GTI Cabriolet (which had debuted at Geneva International Motor Show), plus four completely new concept cars in the form of the Polo R-WRC, Polo WRC Street, Golf GTI Black Dynamic and Golf GTI White Concept.
Golf GTI Cabriolet
Though the Golf GTI Cabriolet had already been shown at the Geneva International Motor Show in March, the Wörthersee event offers a chance to get much closer to the car, to engage with Volkswagen experts on the features and benefits of the car, and in many cases to see it driven and to even drive such exclusive cars.
Polo WRC Street
The Polo WRC Street concept car is visually unique with its rear spoiler, diffuser, sports suspension and an inscription with R-WRC logos. Under the bonnet, a 220 PS 2.0-liter TSI engine produces exceptional performance.
Polo R-WRC - "the hottest Polo ever"
The Polo R WRC is from the workshops of Volkswagen Motorsport and is a road-going prototype for the FIA World Rally Championship. It was dubbed the “hottest Polo ever” by Volkswagen Head of Development Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg during the presentation, and will be competing in WRC races from next year.
The engine of the WRC prototype is a 1.6-litre TSI engine with around 300 PS power output The car has a 0 to 100 km/h time of 4.1 seconds.
Golf GTI Black Dynamic
The GTI Black Dynamic is the work of nine Volkswagen apprentices and features an 1,800-watt sound system with nine loudspeakers, which takes up the entire trunk.
Golf GTI White Concept
The Golf GTI White Concept design study features ‘Oryx White matt’ paintwork with a vehicle interior in black/red contrast. In addition to the sports seats in Nappa leather, red contrasting stitching adorns numerous details such as the steering wheel, handbrake lever and door armrests.
A door sill trim – with the GTI logo and honeycomb pattern in White Matt and Aluminium – go to complete the unique appearance of the Golf GTI ‘Concept White’.
