Apparently the title for the king of hot hatches on this planet has been handed over to Mercedes-Benz via the tremendous AMG A45 – the 355HP hot hatch that caused many Volkswagen Golf GTI owners to run for cover. However, that set to end, as Volkswagen will counter the AMG A45 with the soon to be launched Golf R Evo.
The name “Evo” has previously worked wonders for a particular Japanese saloon car, so Volkswagen is hoping to ride with the success of the “Evo” with the Golf R. To start, the Golf R Evo is a stripped out and lighten version of the Golf R. The standard Golf R hot hatch produces 296bhp and 380Nm from its 2.0 TSI engine, and was all-wheel driven via a Haldex 4MOTION system. It is expected that 100 kg can be shredded by taking out the rear seats with a roll-cage, thinner bucket seats in the front and fitting lighter alloys, along with a carbon-fibre roof and sections of carbon-fibre bodywork. The standard R weights at 1,476kg.
There is no word yet on the performance upgrades, but given the Golf R Evo managed to be 100 kg lighter thanks to the Atkins diet of motoring (aka shredding off anything unnecessary and add lightness) , it should able to match the kerb weight of the already impressive Golf Gti. More details on the AMG A45’s fighter from Wolfsburg when the car is set to be launched at Beijing Motor Show in April.
[Source: AutoExpress]
