503hp Audi A1 clubsport quattro to debut at Worthersee |  |
- 503hp Audi A1 clubsport quattro to debut at Worthersee
- Origins of the Volkswagen GTI on its 35th Anniversary
- World debut of the Golf GTI Edition 35 at Worthersee
| 503hp Audi A1 clubsport quattro to debut at Worthersee Posted: 31 May 2011 09:58 AM PDT It gives the impression of having just emerged from the shop, freshly painted, on its way to the first rollout on the race track. The Audi A1 clubsport quattro is a one-off vehicle built to the limits of technology for breathtaking dynamics. Audi is presenting the showcar in Reifnitz, in the Austrian state of Karnten, at the Worthersee Tour 2011. The 30th edition of this major meeting for Audi, Seat, Skoda and VW fans takes place from June 1 – 4, 2011. The heart of the Audi A1 clubsport quattro is a classic Audi gasoline engine – a five-cylinder unit displacing 2.5 liters with turbocharging and direct fuel injection. Compared with the version used in the Audi TT RS and RS 3 Sportback on which it is based, the output of the TFSI has been increased dramatically to 370 kW (503 hp) and 660 Nm (486.79 lb-ft) of torque. Maximum power is available between 2,500 and 5,300 rpm.
The turbocharger, intercooler, admission tract and the exhaust line have been systematically tuned for high performance. As on the Audi A4 DTM, the tailpipe is located on the left flank, just in front of the rear wheel. Another area where the A1 clubsport quattro shines is its overall weight of just 1,390 kilograms (3,064 lb). The powerful engine catapults the car from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 3.7 seconds. From 0 to 200 km/h (124.27 mph) takes just 10.9 seconds, while the car goes from 80 to 120 km/h (49.71 to 74.56 mph) in fourth gear in just 2.4 seconds. A six-speed manual transmission and quattro permanent all-wheel drive, both taken from the TT RS and enhanced, deliver the power to all four wheels. Top speed is governed at 250 km/h (155.34 mph). The Audi showcar rolls on 255/30 low-profile tires mounted on 19-inch alloy wheels with a unique turbine design. Sitting behind the wheels are large, internally ventilated disc brakes. Up front, six-piston calipers grab perforated carbon fiber-ceramic discs. Large steel discs are mounted on the rear axle. The coilover suspension of the A1 clubsport quattro features adjustable compression and rebound damping. Dynamic and brawny: the exteriorSporting a very dynamic appearance and an exquisite finish, the showcar makes no secret of its potential. The body has a Glacier White matt paint finish, with accents provided by many add-on parts. The roof arch in high-gloss black supports a roof made of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), and the four rings at the front of the car are solid aluminum. The front fenders, the doors and the rear side panels of the Audi A1 clubsport quattro have been widened by a total of 60 millimeters (2.36 in). They form horizontal “blister” edges, like those found on the Audi Ur-quattro. Air outlets are integrated into the rear ends of the fenders, and the newly designed trim strips on the sills are made of exposed CFRP. Sleek side mirrors are reminiscent of the Audi R8 high-performance sports car. The rear of the showcar is dominated by the roof spoiler, which features a double wing to provide for sufficient downforce. Darkly toned rear lights and a large, closed diffuser hone the rear view of the A1 clubsport quattro. Designed as a road vehicle for the race track, the showcar has no rear seat. In its place are a large crossbar to further stiffen the body and storage for racing helmets. A weight-optimized starter battery used in racing is mounted in the rear below the two storage compartments. The strict high-performance concept left no room for an infotainment system, an MMI monitor or even a loudspeaker. The lightweight bucket seats are taken from the Audi R8 GT and feature a chassis made of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer. Red four-point belts secure the driver and passenger. The interior of the showcar is a study in dark gray. Large areas are covered with exposed, matt-finished CFRP, including the walls in the rear section of the car, the tubes of the air vents and the “stern of the yacht” in the lower section of the center console. The CFRP material used on the open-spoked sport steering wheel is covered with leather. Rocker switches on the center console replace switches on the control stalk and in the door panels. Three additional instruments indicate the oil pressure, boost pressure and electrical system voltage. The center console and the seats are covered in fine leather upholstery with tone-on-tone stitching. The selector lever is made of aluminum; the caps of the pedals and the surface of the footrest are made of stainless steel. Red loops replace the handles on the doors, the glove box and the covers of the storage compartments. Experience the Audi A1 clubsport quattro interactivelyThe Audi A1 clubsport quattro can also be experienced exclusively in Need for Speed World, where it will be available to all players as a free in-game rental car from June 1 – 4. Need for Speed World is the Play4Free online PC racing game from EA, in which players take part in races in a giant multiplayer world. The Audi stand at WortherseeJoining the A1 clubsport quattro on the Audi stand at the GTI meet are 17 production vehicles from the current Audi model lineup. Among the vehicles that the brand is presenting to its fans at the Worthersee is the new Audi Q3. The public can also take a close look at the Audi TT RS in Ibis White and an RS 3 Sportback in Misano Red. Another model is the new Audi A6, which is on display next to an A7 Sportback in Misano Red. Fans and guests making the trip to the Worthersee from June 1 – 4 have the opportunity to present their tuned Audi in a worthy manner by driving it past the Audi stage at the company’s Worthersee stand. New accessories for production modelsMany of the features of the Audi A1 clubsport quattro will soon show up in the accessories program for the A1 family, which Audi is steadily expanding. Adhesive film decals in the contrasting colors Amalfi White, Ice Silver, metallic and Daytona Gray, pearl effect for the vehicles’ shoulders are available immediately. Another option is the union square lifestyle kit. It comprises exterior decals and design elements for the interior, both with a diamond pattern. Audi is presenting both this and the A1 aerodynamics competition kit at the Worthersee Tour. The customer can order this add-on kit painted either in the body color or in a contrasting color. The same applies to the Audi A1 roof spoiler competition kit.                                      - Audi Related posts:
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| Origins of the Volkswagen GTI on its 35th Anniversary Posted: 31 May 2011 08:49 AM PDT The Golf GTI has been in existence for 35 years now. Officially. But of course its history actually began much earlier, and that part of its story is unofficial. A group of enthusiasts – devotees of the dynamic side of Volkswagen – initially advanced the “Sport Golf” project in secret starting in 1974. Taking the lead roles here were Anton Konrad, former PR director, and Alfons Lowenberg, an engineer with petrol coursing through his blood… The idea. “On 18 March 1974 I wrote a widely distributed internal memo – across all hierarchies as was my style back then,” recalls Alfons Lowenberg. Its subject matter: one should really consider offering a sporty Golf model for younger customers. Lowenberg might have put on a coat when he got the feedback: he perceived a definite chill in the air. “It was clear to see”, says Anton Konrad, “that Volkswagen was fully occupied with the roll-out of its new model line-up. At that time, very few were receptive to a special project of this kind.” Nonetheless, Lowenberg continues to work meticulously and in secret – on a test car… 35 plus 2:
Jumping the gun. The engineer plants a Weber dual carburetor on top of the Golf’s 1.6-litre engine, gives the body an official sport exhaust and lowers the entire ride height to a brutal level. Occupant comfort tends towards zero. With this thing of a car, he raises an acoustic cacophony at the Volkswagen test centre in Ehra-Lessien, but then ventures forth from his cover too early and too far: Lowenberg lets Head of Research Prof. Dr. Ernst Fiala drive the noisy car, and with disastrous results: “Afterwards, Fiala roared at about the same volume as the sport exhaust system installed on the Golf,” explains Lowenberg today. Now, 35 years later, this event seems humorous. “Undrivable, this car!” is what Fiala’s assessment was said to be. The test car was suddenly on very thin ice. “We had to change our strategy, and quickly,” explains Konrad in 2011. So, in 1974 he extended invitations to these people: Head of Development and Golf Project Leader Hermann Hablitzel, Jürgen Adler (Department Head – Interior Engineering), Herbert Schuster (Head of Passenger Car Testing), Horst-Dieter Schwittlinsky (Marketing) and Alfons Lowenberg. Konrad knew that if a vehicle proposal were to bear fruit he had to “take discussions of the project away from the company environment”. So, the comfortable venue for discussions was his living room… The truth. “Exactly!” some of you might say, now comes the story about the meeting over beer and sandwiches! “It was actually over coffee, and my wife baked a cake,” emphasizes Konrad, correcting the previous version of the story. The launch. Clarity makes its way into the “Sport Golf” project. First, a clearly outlined goal is set: A sporty, comfortable car with everyday practicality should be created – not a roaring race car. The initial target volume: 5,000 units as a basis for type approval for legal motorsport registration. “Too small a volume for Sales to make money after amortizing costs,” recalls Horst-Dieter Schwittlinsky today. “We knew that the GTI could only be implemented at low cost by using production parts,” analyses Herbert Schuster. The results of the meeting: the group likes its ingenious recipe for success as much as the cake that was served. The team really begins to bite into its task. The ingredients. For cost and weight reasons, the two-door base model of the Golf is used as the basis for the GTI, and its running gear is modified to handle the additional engine power. Schuster: “The front running gear got an anti-roll bar and larger brake calipers, and the team decided on internally ventilated brake discs. The Golf’s ride height was lowered modestly with 20 mm shorter springs and matching dampers. This would make the later GTI well-behaved, especially at its performance limits, and it could be driven comfortably – even at high speeds.” Recaro supplies the sport seats, and the sport steering wheel is contributed by the Scirocco TS introduced shortly before the GTI. In parallel, the design department brainstorms over this question: What should such a car look like? “Back then, we decided that the color combination black-red was very sporty,” reports Gunhild Liljequist, who at that time designed material samples, door trim panels, interior features and later other special models at Volkswagen. For the GTI, she creates the now legendary tartan seat cover pattern. A colleague of hers comes up with the idea of the red stripe around the radiator grille, and she conceptualizes the golf ball used as a gear shift grip. The engine. But there is still one technical problem: “To train Customer Service on how to service the Weber dual carburetor, and for just 5,000 cars, was completely unthinkable!” says Konrad. Then, in the midst of the project, he was invited to Ingolstadt by then Head of Audi Development Ferdinand Piech. Anton Konrad: “Mr. Piech introduced me to the new Audi 80 GTE and asked whether I would like to come along for a test ride. I spontaneously answered ‘Yes’.” Konrad is immediately impressed by the 110 PS injection engine and realizes: this is the right engine for “the project”! When Konrad informs him about the project, Piech makes a quick decision too: Volkswagen will get 5,000 GTE engines for the new Golf top model. “With that,” says Konrad, “we knew that the car was now finished and could be officially proposed!” The decision. Chairman of the Board Toni Schmucker is now briefed by Konrad on the by now open secret, which is submitted for approval as the “Sport Golf” project. The rest is history: the originally planned 5,000 Golf GTIs turned into nearly 2 million today… Related posts:
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| World debut of the Golf GTI Edition 35 at Worthersee Posted: 31 May 2011 05:55 AM PDT Golf GTI Edition 35 35 years of the Golf GTI! Volkswagen is celebrating the anniversary of this icon with the new Golf GTI Edition 35. 173 kW / 235 PS of power (25 PS more than the normal GTI) and a fast 247 km/h top speed; 6 kg/PS power density. It will be a collector’s item from day one – arriving right on the 35th anniversary of the GTI legend. Back in the summer of 1976 – when the very first production GTI was launched – no one ever would have surmised what Volkswagen had just unleashed. No one. Not even Volkswagen itself. Some things simply cannot be planned – icons included. And so the first Golf GTI surprised everyone: buyers, competitors, the carmaker and – on the Autobahn – all those drivers of other sports cars and luxury saloons who had never heard of such a thing from Volkswagen, but were now being passed by it. Since then, the GTI advanced to become the most successful compact sports car in automotive history. 5,000 GTIs were planned – yet the GTI of our day is irrepressibly approaching the production milestone of 2 million units built!
6.6 seconds for the sprint. Now, the new Golf GTI Edition 35 is proving the potential of this automobile. As always, it has front-wheel drive and offers nonstop road grip thanks to its XDS electronic differential lock. The Volkswagen converts each and every one of its maximum of 300 Newton meters of torque (2,200 to 5,500 rpm) into forward propulsion. After just 6.6 seconds, the Golf GTI Edition 35 passes the 100 km/h mark. No other GTI before it has been this dynamic. An optional 6-speed DSG can shift gears in fractions of a second. 140,000 fans at Worthersee. Volkswagen is presenting the Golf GTI Edition 35 – which can be ordered now – in a world debut at the GTI Meet in Reifnitz at Worthersee (June 1st to 4th). Once again, over 140,000 visitors are expected this year. There is no better location for showcasing this car – especially in 2011. That is because 2011 marks the 30th time that this “Autonews” event is being held in Karnten. 35 years of the GTI and 30 years of the GTI Meet are signs of a cult classic. Some history: by the sixth year after the launch of the Golf GTI, the fan community had already grown so large that it sought a common platform, an event to “talk shop”, showcase the GTI and drive it. This led to the first GTI Meet in Reifnitz at Worthersee in 1982. Ever since then, GTI fans have been celebrating Mardi Gras in the Austrian town of Karnten in summer. Exterior of the Golf GTI Edition 35 in detail35 years of design evolution. For the past 35 years, Volkswagen has been developing its Golf GTI icon in careful steps, refining its shape like a diamond, making its forms more precise, perfecting its handling, and making its engine performance more dynamic. This is all happening once again. Visually, the Golf GTI Edition 35 can be recognized by its new bumper design in front, which can be optionally equipped with bi-xenon headlights plus cornering and LED daytime running lights. The car’s aerodynamics were improved by winglets (air flow surfaces) positioned at lower outboard areas in front, and the mid-section of the front spoiler was kept in black. On the car’s sides, it is the glossy black mirror housings, side sill extensions in body color and the “35″ edition badge on the front wings that identify the anniversary model. All Golf GTI Edition 35 cars are also equipped with smoked LED rear lights, an LED-illuminated license plate at the rear and smoked rear windows. 2 new wheel classics. In addition, Volkswagen has developed new, standard 18-inch “Watkins Glen” alloy wheels for the Golf GTI Edition 35 (named after a US racetrack in the state of New York). The wheels, fitted with 225/40 R18 tires, are available in one light-coloured version (“Sterling Silver”) and one dark-coloured version (“Grey Metallic”). Also new to the program and available on all Golf GTIs: optional 19-inch “Glendale” alloy wheels with 225/35 tires. The five spokes on this wheel are painted black, while the rim flange itself is machine-polished. Based on their clean, sporty designs, both new wheels – like the familiar GTI wheels “Denver” and “Detroit” – have the potential to become classics. 9 exterior paints. White, black, red and silver have been classic GTI colors for 35 years. Naturally, they (and 5 other paints) are also offered on the GTI Edition 35. To be specific, Volkswagen is offering this Golf in the 3 monochrome colors “Candy White”, “Tornado Red” and “Black”, 4 metallic paints “Carbon Steel Grey”, “Reflex Silver”, “Shadow Blue” and “United Grey” and in the pearl effect colors “Blue Graphite” and “Deep Black”. Interior of the Golf GTI Edition 351 legendary gear shift grip. The interior was customized too. New GTI ingredients here: the gear shift grip in the classic golf ball look of the first generation GTI, new decorative strips in the cockpit area and the door trim panels (“Black Array” type), special door sill plates with worked-in “35″ logo, safety belts with red stripes and a “35″ integrated in the front head restraints of the top sport seats (“Jacky” style). 3 GTI seat cover versions. In addition, the interior design team conceptualized an entirely new type of upholstery for the Golf GTI Edition 35 in “Favo” / “San Remo” pattern (optional), which, like “Jacky” (standard), matches the GTI’s character perfectly. The inside lateral seat supports and front parts of the head restraints are designed in sophisticated “Vienna” leather in “Titan Black”. Meanwhile, the centre seat panels have active-breathing microfibers (likewise black), and their styling matches the legendary honeycomb pattern of the GTI radiator grille. The “35″ logo appears on the backs of the seats, and all decorative seams of this seat design are in “Flash Red”. Also always in red: decorative seams around the 3-spoke sport steering wheel, the hand brake and gear shift trim as well as the borders of the floor mats. Last but not least, it is of course possible to order the seats of the Golf GTI Edition 35 completely upholstered in leather (“Vienna”) as well. The engine of the Golf GTI Edition 35235 PS and 300 Nm. When 173 kW / 235 PS of power (+ 25 PS compared to the normal GTI; maximum power from 5,500 to 6,300 rpm) and a torque of 300 Nm (+ 20 Nm; maximum torque from 2,200 to 5,500 rpm) act on the car with a curb weight of 1,400 kg, this unleashes vehicle dynamics that match those of a purebred sports car in any measure of performance. Its acceleration (0-100 km/h in 6.6 s) and top speed (247 km/h) are the usual statistical measures, but much more important and typical of this GTI is its relentless torque in every speed range. Step into the GTI, adjust the ergonomically fitting sport seats and the sport steering wheel, turn on the ignition (by key or optionally by button press) and a storm breaks loose. Acoustically too: the GTI already has a full sporty sound, but new tuning of the sound actuator makes it even sportier. Clearly, to discover the true potential of the GTI machine, each owner of the new Golf GTI Edition 35 should really visit – at least once and with all due respect – the North Loop of the Nurburgring race course. 1,984 cm3 displacement. The engine employed in the Golf GTI Edition 35 is a turbocharged petrol direct-injection engine of the EA113 engine series. Those of you who are now thinking of the all-wheel drive Golf R are on the right track. The two vehicles share the same base engine. The 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine builds up its propulsive power via a turbocharger with inter-cooling. The GTI engine is controlled by a fully electronic engine management system with E-Gas. The engine’s pistons are equipped with reinforced gudgeon pins. The connecting rod was also designed with greater strength, so that it can reliably transfer high torque to the crankshaft. The cylinder block was reinforced to handle the extremely high engine forces that occur. 8.0 l/100 km with DSG. Despite all of its dynamic performance, the Golf GTI Edition 35 is also efficient at combusting its preferred fuel (Super, 95 ROZ). The new GTI with manual gearbox offers a respectable combined fuel consumption of 8.1 liters per 100 km (equivalent to 189 g/km CO2). In the DSG version, these two values are improved to 8.0 l/100 km and 185 g/km CO2. Power transmission in the Golf GTI Edition 352 gearboxes with 6 speeds. The engine’s power is transferred via either a manual 6-speed gearbox or an optional 6-speed DSG transmission. For 35 years, the GTI has been driven via the front axle. There, the standard XDS electronic differential lock now ensures that the rubber on the tires remains there and does not end up on the street. Moreover, XDS significantly improves handling properties. Technically, XDS is a functional extension of the electronic differential lock (EDS) that is integrated in the ESP system. As soon as the electronics detects that the front wheel at the inside of the bend is excessively unloaded during fast driving, the ESP hydraulics build up braking pressure at this wheel to restore optimal traction. That is, XDS acts as a transverse differential lock that compensates for the typical understeering of front-wheel drive vehicles during quick driving through bends. The result: thanks to XDS, the driving behavior of the GTI is significantly more precise and neutral. Running gear of the Golf GTI Edition 3515 mm lower ride height. Like all GTIs, the Edition 35 is equipped with a sport chassis; the body sits 15 mm lower than on a conventional Golf. Working in front is the familiar MacPherson suspension with helical springs and telescoping dampers. At the rear, an innovative multi-link suspension ensures that the ESP system seldom needs to be activated. The Volkswagen’s four disc brakes are also extremely durable and strong: braked from 100 km/h, the Golf GTI Edition 35 reaches a standstill after about 35 meters! And that too is typical for this GTI.      - Volkswagen AG Related posts:
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