Autocar 21/03/2018

A LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY PhD student has created a piece of technology that could save the diesel engine (p18). Suffice to say, it’s the most complete solution to almost totally eradicating NOx from diesel emissions. Manufacturers and major suppliers are now clamouring over securing the rights to bring it to market. Quite right: it shows how much life there is still in the black pump, if it is allowed to flourish. Some say the damage appears to be done for diesel. Shame, because it remains a credible way to cut CO2 emissions and is right for so many buyers. Remove the NOx downsides, as the Loughborough technology appears to do, and the case for the defence has never been stronger. We suspect diesel is not dead yet. Even the boss of the Volkswagen…

“VW will be looking to drop the new Golf R’s 0-62mph time below 4.5sec” The eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf will be revealed at the 2019 Geneva motor show and promises a revolution in interior technology, as well as greater performance than ever for the flagship GTI and R performance models. The new Golf, design work of which is complete and chassis development at an advanced stage, will also introduce the next generation of the VW Group’s versatile MQB platform, understood to be called MQB/W. In the next generation of the Golf, the interior and technology will be the central focus of development, to bring the car into the digital era. However, VW is also determined to build on the rich history of performance Golfs, which make up 30% of sales in the UK. To that…

Plenty of companies recently have launched stand-alone performance brands, such as Volvo and its Polestar, Seat and its Cupra. But it’s not in the plan for VW. Why? Boss Herbert Diess believes GTI and R are stronger under VW. He said: “For Seat [also owned by the VW Group], it might make sense, but you want to strengthen your core brand with these kind of performance products and I think it works better if you call it Volkswagen R or GTI. We wouldn’t separate them.” The key difference between, say, VW and Seat is the value of the brand. Despite lots of bad press in recent years, the VW brand still has prestige. By comparison, Seat boss Luca de Meo admitted recently that Cupra (pictured) has already intrigued people who wouldn’t consider…

Volkswagen has no current plans to follow up its limited-run Golf GTI Clubsport S with another limited-run special. Instead, its focus has shifted to the next-generation Golf GTI model. When asked if there will be a follow-up to that car with a run-out version for this generation of Golf GTI, R&D boss Frank Welsch said: “Probably not. It’s better just to plan next GTI; give it even more performance and make it even more GTI.” However, VW brand boss Herbert Diess has not ruled out more such cars in the future. “We have very, very eager people in our development who love race cars,” he said. “They’re always trying to get the car faster and will want to do something with the GTI. We lost a bit of ground against Civic Type…

“The T-Roc R is likely to use a drivetrain closely related to the current Golf R’s” THE NEXT R model to be launched by Volkswagen will be a based on the T-Roc, R&D boss Frank Welsch has hinted. “With the T-Roc, it is easier to imagine an R version of that rather than a GTI, as it’s four-wheel drive,” he said. When asked if VW will make a T-Roc R, Welsch said: “I think so, yeah. For sporty SUVs, there will be customers.” The T-Roc R is likely to use a drivetrain closely related to the current Golf R’s, meaning a 2.0-litre TSI petrol engine with 306bhp driving all four wheels through a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Expect also a subtle bodykit for the T-Roc R akin to that of the Golf…

Volkswagen will create performance versions of its future ID electric models but has not yet decided whether they will be badged GTI, R or something else entirely. VW R&D boss Frank Welsch said noise is a big consideration for the future ID performance models and he does not yet have a solution for how to replicate some of the emotions you get from driving conventional performance models in the new electric family. VW will race an electric car at the Pikes Peak hillclimb this summer and Welsch hopes that will offer clues about how to address performance ID versions. “When the first ID cars are in series production, we will see how they’re done,” he said. “Then when you drive it, you’ll see how it’ll be done and what you dream of. “Maybe it’s…