Volkswagen’s new Golf GTE Sport plug-in hybrid (PHEV) concept is a recently unveiled carbon-bodied sports-car concept that, according to the company, aims to bridge “the gap between road cars and racing sport cars.”
Based on what’s been revealed, that characterization doesn’t sound too far off to my ears. For example, the concept car features a 295-hp, 1.6-liter turbocharged, direct-injected four-cylinder engine (lifted directly from VW’s Polo R World Rally Car); as well as 2 electric motors (one 85 kilowatt motor in the front, one 85 kilowatt motor in the back) capable of delivering 243 lb-feet to the front or 199 lb-feet to the back.
The Golf GTE Sport PHEV concept also features a brand-new racing car inspired 3-tier digital instrument display — with a special feature for visualization of the racing line. Seating follows suit, with the setup being 2 monocoque perches featuring 5-point racing harnesses.
The concept car features 3 different driving modes: an all-electric mode (E-mode), a Hybrid Mode, and a performance-oriented mode (GTE-Mode). The 3 modes are pretty self explanatory — the only thing really worth noting is that the hybrid mode allows for the recharging of the battery while driving, similar to the Audi A3 e-tron, amongst others.
The PHEV’s body is composed mostly out of carbon, thereby making for a fairly light vehicle — aiding fuel efficiency. All-electric driving range is reportedly 37 miles, but as battery capacity hasn’t been revealed and the car hasn’t been tested by independent bodies, its not known exactly how accurate this is.
While in performance mode, total system output is 394 horsepower and 494 lb-feet of torque; acceleration is 0-62 miles per hour in 4.3 seconds; and top speed is 174 miles per hour.
Interesting concept car. Would anyone reading this buy something like this?
Image Credit: Volkswagen
I think they would need to bring this to market at about US$30K by 2017 for it to make any sense. Tesla model S has more acceleration, and by 2017 the model 3 should be out.
This is a engineering test-bed, and could end up with the same market issues that currently plague the Volt.
I like it.
Could be redundant though if the Model 3 delivers on our expectations. Given similar performance and price, not having an ICE will be a win for the 3.