A lightweight carbon-infused Volkswagen Golf GTI is rumoured to be on the radar for the German manufacturer, hot on the heels of the release of the new Volkswagen Golf Mk7.
The UK’s Autocar reports a limited edition lightweight Volkswagen Golf GTI constructed with carbonfibre and aluminium, intended as a nod to the original 810kg bare bones GTI of the 1970s, could launch in time to mark 40 years of the Volkswagen Golf.
According to the report the Carbon GTI should shave 200kg of weight thanks to its use of a carbonfibre roof and bonnet and aluminium in the car’s front bulkhead, windscreen surround and floor panels.
Power is said to come from the 165kW 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that is expected to come in the standard Golf GTI Mk7 when it’s released. The rumoured model will be front-wheel drive, avoiding a heavy four-wheel drive system like that in the current Golf R.
The weight reduction should help performance and efficiency figures and, according to Autocar, with making the lightweight Golf reminiscent of the original GTI’s agility and simplicity.
The report says two significant production developments have made the production of a Volkswagen Golf GTI ‘Carbon’ edition possible: the roof being a two-layer carbonfibre sandwich over a thin steel core allowing the roof to be welded into the body on a standard production line, and the aluminium components riveted or bonded to the steel understructure.
The new generation Volkswagen Golf Mk7 is due to be released overseas in the first quarter of 2013, with the Golf GTI to follow.