Volkswagen unveils 404bhp Golf designed by apprentices

Hybrid-powered GTI gets an all-wheel drive
powertrain, but there’s no plans for a production model

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The Golf GTI First Decade, the tenth apprentice-built car, is
powered by a 404bhp petrol engine coupled to a 48-volt electric
motor with an output of 12kW. 

Its hybrid system is used to drive all-four wheels of the
car, rather than the Golf GTI’s tradition front-wheel layout, while
the petrol engine sends power to the front axle and the electric
motor drives the rear wheels.

It can be driven on either petrol or electric power,
although VW says the latter can only be used for parking and
pulling away from traffic lights. 

Inside are only two seats, says AutoExpress, but “they’re pretty hi-tech
and can be controlled via an app – with a massage function and
electric adjustment”.

First Decade badges are located throughout the cabin,
while a “huge 1,690-watt sound system with 11 speakers” can be
found in the boot.

Along with the Golf GTI First Decade, the apprentices also
fettled a Golf GTE estates, which Autocar says has “a heavier focus upon the
car’s electric powertrain”.

The GTE Estate Impulse E  features 165kW electric
motor paired with a 16.8kWh “prototype battery pack”, adds the
mag.

Both cars will appear at the Worthersee Golf GTI celebration in
Germany, a “pilgrimage-festival for modified car enthusiasts” of VW
vehicles, says Top Gear.

At its 2007 event, Volkswagen debuted a radical Golf
powered by a 641bhp W12 engine, although the car never reached
production. 

Nor are there plans to put this year’s apprentice-built
Golfs into production, but Top Gear says the project indicates the
company “is thinking about integrating electricity into its core
heartland models”.