VW Design Vision GTI

The Design Vision GTI has been revealed at the Worthersee VW event in Austria. Designed to please the 200,000 fans who are expected to attend the event, which runs from 8-12 May, the Design Vision GTI is intended to show a vision of what a GTI built specifically for racing could look like.

The one-off concept is built on the familiar MQB modular platform, but measures 4,253mm long, 1,442 high and 1,870mm wide, making it 15mm shorter, 57mm lower and 71mm wider than the current VW Golf GTI, giving a more aggressive stance.

Instead of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine used by the GTI, the concept features a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6. As a result, power jumps from 217bhp and 350Nm of torque to 496bhp and 560Nm.

The engine drives all four wheels via a twin-clutch gearbox, while the brakes now feature ceramic discs.

The Vision GTI completes the 0-62mph sprint in 3.9 seconds – down from the 6.5 seconds that a DSG-equipped GTI can manage – while its top speed climbs from 152mph to 186mph.

The Design Vision GTI has been styled by Marc Lichte, Andreas Mindt and Philipp Romers, the same team that penned the latest Golf and GTI models.

Finished in white, with piano black trim, the Design Vision GTI takes the subtle but striking design features of the standard car and exaggerates them.

For example, the curvy C-pillar now sticks out, almost like a flying buttress that's separate from the car bodyside, while the rear diffuser has grown significantly. Likewise, the front wheelarches are much more aggressive, and now flare out with vents in front of and behind them, and 20-inch wheels closely fill the arches.

Inside, the controls on the dash have been minimised, so the buttons for the three driving modes – street, sport and track – are now on the steering wheel, while the dashboard itself is now more angled towards the driver.

The interior is constructed from carbon fibre and alcantara, and features the same red fabric loop door closers as used in Porsche Cup cars.

As it’s designed as a racer, the Vision GTI has an X-shaped cross brace instead of rear seats, and built-in helmet storage. The car also has a display of the current racetrack you’re driving on, along with split times of other cars.

Sadly there are no plans to build a production version of the concept. Much like VW's previous Worthersee Golfs - such as the mid-engined Bentley-W12-powered Golf W12-650 - the Vision is more an excuse to let the firm's designers let off some steam.

Audi E-Tron Spyder

The e-tron Spyder is a glimpse into Audi’s future – we already know the firm is planning a mid-engined sports car to sit below the R8, and this concept gives us the best idea of how it will look. We got an insight into how it might handle, too, as we took the wheel for an exclusive drive.

The car was first displayed at last year’s Paris Motor Show, and its wheelbase is a full 220mm shorter than the R8’s. It’s only 4.06 metres long and 1.11 metres high, but a purposeful-looking 1.81 metres wide. Audi has clearly gone to a lot of trouble to make the e-tron Spyder stand out, and it’s one of the best-looking sports cars we’ve seen; the wheels for example are each made from 66 individual parts.

Climb aboard and the cabin design is simpler, but just as stylish. There’s a set of one-piece carbon fibre seats, complete with electronic adjustment, and they’re very comfortable. Hi-tech touches include ventilation controls that blend seamlessly into the dash and can be opened or closed at the swipe of a finger.

Driving the rear wheels is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel engine, while a pair of plug-in electric motors turn the front wheels individually. Together, they produce a total of 383bhp and a huge 1,002Nm of torque.

Not only does that mean the Spyder is capable of sprinting from 0-62mph in 4.4 seconds, but it can also run on electric power alone for around 30 miles. On our first run we were limited to the electric-only mode, and as we pulled away, the e-tron whined and hummed. But there’s a slight disappointment as you realise the car isn’t quite as quick as its looks suggest, too.

That changed when the diesel was fired into life for our second run. The twin-turbo V6 hurled the e-tron forward and, because it uses a CVT gearbox, engineers have done without the artificial gear ‘steps’ of a production car. It just revs up to the point where the most torque is and stays there while the car picks up speed.