The Golf GTI is the classic symbol of hot hatchback. With humble beginnings as a two-door 110-hp hatch over 40 years ago, the Golf GTI became an absolute legend with several successful generations and countless variations and concepts. But let's talk about that one time when Volkswagen went absolutely bananas with it.
In 2007, Volkswagen set out to surprise a huge gathering of iconic Golf enthusiasts in Wörthersee, Austria. The small lake town had an annual event dedicated to the Golf GTI between 1982 and 2023 when it was discontinued. Instead of introducing just another upgraded version of the GTI, VW pulled the wraps off something truly extraordinary — the Golf GTI W12-650 .
Potentially approved by an eccentric executive, this one-of-a-kind Golf GTI concept featured a W12 engine with an output of a whopping 650 horses. Putting a W12 engine in a Golf is akin to slotting a jet engine in a go-kart. The car packed so much power that the glove box was reserved for a fire extinguisher.
And that's how Volkswagen pitched the wildest and wackiest version of the Golf GTI at Wörthersee Treffen. It's worth revisiting all the changes Volkswagen had to implement to a production-grade Golf to make this possible. Underneath the familiar cladding of the Golf, a remarkable transformation took place in the form of the W12 engine.
It was a 6.0-liter, twin-turbocharged W12 engine, far superior to the standard turbocharged four-cylinder GTI engine. W12 engines, like this one, belong in sup.