VW

Golf Bentley W12-650

What is the Volkswagen Golf W12-650? Back in 2007, Volkswagen needed something jaw-dropping to show off at Worthersee GTI-Treffen – a GTI fan festival hosted in Austria every year until it was canned in 2024 amid friction with the local community.

So two months before GTI-Treffen, VW designers started raiding the group’s vast parts bin to create something truly astonishing. It started with the humble body of a fifth-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI, but the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine wasn’t quite crazy enough.

So the 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 engine from the Bentley Continental GT was shoehorned in. It would never fit under the Golf’s bonnet, so out came the rear seats and the whopping engine was slotted right behind the driver.

To put all 650hp to the ground it had the rear axle from a Lamborghini Gallardo and the automatic gearbox from the Volkswagen Phaeton luxury limousine, as well as the front brakes from an Audi RS4 to make sure it can stop properly.

The body was also widened by 6.3 inches to make way for both the side-mounted air intakes and the massive tyres, and the W12-650 also sits almost 3.0 inches lower to the ground than the standard Golf GTI.

All these changes come together to create a hot hatchback with as much power as a modern Lamborghini Urus, and one which does 0-60mph in less than four seconds. The W12-650 also achieved a top speed of 201mph, making it just as fast as the Lamborghini Gallardo.

I was hugely excited to get to see the W12-650 in the metal. Ever since I watched the feature on Top Gear back in 2007 with this car, I’ve been obsessed with it. The car has been wrapped red for the launch of the Golf GTI 50, but I reckon it looked way better in its original white paint. Despite this, the attention to detail is still fantastic.

I thought a concept car as complex as this hastily thrown together in two months would be falling apart 19 years later, but the build quality is really impressive. Nothing looks tacked-on or like an afterthought – it’s much closer to a production car from the outside than I expected.

And it just looks so cool. I always thought the Mk5 Golf GTI was the best-looking of the lot, but the W12-650 is on another level. The ridiculous flared arches and massive side vents are plain juvenile, and I love it for that.

Up close there are also some hidden details which you may have missed on TV, such as the roof vent behind the rear spoiler and the hidden vents behind the rear windows. The bootlid is also sealed shut, which I can only imagine makes maintenance a pain.

Stepping inside, it does become more obvious that this is just a concept car. None of the buttons or switches are real, but it does still look the part. The transparent switch guards on the dashboard give it a racecar vibe, as do the black and white Alcantara bucket seats.

The Golf W12-650 is an example of a car company making something just because it can. It’s a showcase of what can be done when the designers aren’t hamstrung by emissions regulations, or the need for a spacious boot or back seats.

Above all else, the W12-650 is dumb in the best possible way. Putting a 650hp W12 engine in the middle of a Golf was always going to end in chaos, and reviews of the car at the time were mainly centred on just how terrifying it was to drive. It was snappy, unpredictable and just downright hilarious.

It sometimes happens that before we're even allowed to get into a car, we're presented with a form marked "embargo." By signing it, we solemnly promise not to reveal anything about the car in question before a certain date. That's why you sometimes see many car websites publish a review at the exact same time: the embargo has expired. But an embargo on a car that's almost 20 years old is something new.

Because you're looking at the 2007 Golf GTI W12-650. In case you're wondering why everyone is suddenly writing about the car: it's because the embargo has expired. Because there's absolutely nothing new, except the color. Volkswagen's crazy project was originally white, but for the GTI's 50th anniversary, they wrapped the car in Tornado Red. This is the color of the original GTI. And the color is available for the first time on the eighth generation of the GTI. The name contains all the information you need to know. It's Volkswagen's over-the-top answer to the Clio V6. Volkswagen put a twin-turbocharged W12 engine with 650 hp in the back of this fifth-generation Golf. The rear axle and rear brakes come from a Lamborghini Gallardo, the front brakes from an Audi RS4, and the gearbox from a Volkswagen Phaeton. The car is 16 centimeters wider at the back, and the tires are 295 millimeters wide.

The best part: the car actually works. Concept cars are usually held together with a bit of chewing gum and duct tape, but not here. You can simply get in, turn the key, and drive away. It happens without any hesitation. Okay, we weren't allowed to exceed 30 km/h (19 mph), but that doesn't matter. We managed to cross it off our bucket list.

The W12 GTI has rear-wheel drive and accelerates to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds. Its top speed is 325 km/h (201 mph). A production Golf has never been this fast. Air enters through the rear windows for the engine, and the roof acts as a giant spoiler. Volkswagen does mention in an old press release that these kinds of modifications can void your factory warranty. Good to know.

Because it's possible, actually. Every year, there was a big party in Wörthersee, Austria, where Volkswagen enthusiasts gathered. Almost every year, Volkswagen came up with something fun for the occasion. This was the most extreme toy they ever devised for the GTI meeting. Unfortunately, there were never any real plans to put the car into production.

by Autonews