Wimmer RS Turns VW Golf R into 478HP Red Devil

Red Devil is the name German tuning firm 'Wimmer RS' chose for its latest take on the Volkswagen Golf R. 'Red' because of the color chosen for the car, and 'Devil' because this Golf R packs a sinister punch under the hood...

In stock form, the all-wheel drive Golf R rolls out of VW's factory with a 2.0-liter TFSI producing 270-hp and 350Nm / 258 lbs-ft of maximum torque. After Wimmer RS's engineers perform their magic, those numbers increase to a whopping 478-hp and 610Nm or 450 lbs-ft.

The extra power comes from a variety of mods including -but not limited to- changes to the turbocharger, ECU, air intake, injection nozzles and exhaust system.

According to the tuning house, the upgraded Golf R can reach an electronically limited top speed of 291 km/h or 181 mph.

Additional performance enhancements include a coil-over suspension set and more potent braking system.

The German tuner did not release info on pricing.

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Volkswagen Presents E-Lavida Study at Beijing Show

Volkswagen is gauging Chinese customer reaction to electric cars with the world premiere of a battery-powered version of its Golf-based Lavida sedan. Called the 'E-Lavida', the concept study is the VW group's first ever e-car completely designed and produced in China. Details on the E-Lavida remain scarce, but the company did release a bunch of photos of the car that you can check out after the break.

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New Ford Fiesta Overtakes VW Golf as Europe's Best Selling Car in Q1

The newest generation of the Ford Fiesta has become Europe's best-selling car, pushing the Volkswagen Golf into second place in both March 2010 and year-to-date sales, according to the latest figures from JATO Dynamics.

Ford sold 68,630 Fiestas in March 2010, representing a 25.8% increase in sales over March 2009, and 11,785 more than Volkswagen's second-placed Golf.

In the first quarter of the year (January-March), Europeans bought 140,496 Ford Fiestas (+21.7%) and 135,048 VW Golfs (+10.4%).

Beyond the Fiesta and Golf, small cars dominated the list with the best selling models in Europe in first quarter of 2010.

The most improved car in the month's top ten was the new Opel/ Vauxhall Astra, which saw a 42.9 sales rise in March, helped greatly by a 75.9% increase in the UK, where it was the third best-selling car.

As well as securing the top spot with the Fiesta, Ford also managed to finish first in the March brand chart, with 1,818 sales more than Volkswagen, whilst also closing up the year-to-date gap to its German rival which topped the Q1 charts with 372, 205 units (+7.8%).

As for the national trends, aside from Germany that saw a hefty drop in sales in march (-26,6%) and in the first quarter (-22.8%), all other major European markets posted sales gains for both March and year-to-date 2010, compared to 2009.

Via: JATO

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New Volkswagen Touran MPV Confirmed for Leipzig Auto Show

A redesigned version of Volkswagen's Golf-based Touran people carrier will have its world premiere at the forthcoming AMI motor show in Leipzig, Germany (April 9-18), the automaker (officially) announced today.

Although no photos were released, Volkswagen said that its Opel Zafira and Citroen C4 Picasso rival in the mid-size MPV segment will boast a new design DNA as well as a revamped engine lineup comprising of six new gasoline and diesel units with reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

The new Touran MPV will be joined in Leipzig by the facelifted Audi TT Coupe and Roadster as well as the new Sharan minivan, Touareg SUV, Polo GTI and Cross, the Amarok pickup truck and the T5 4MOTION.

*Current generation VW Touran featured in the photo gallery below

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Volkswagen Officially Adds the Letter 'R' to its Vocabulary

Volkswagen has announced that R has become official. In the vein of Audi's quattro GmbH (and AMG, M, SVT, SRT, Nismo. etc.), R GmbH - located near Wolfsburg in Warmenau - will be VW's official in-house tuner, allowing for performance and "individualised" vehicles, along with the "emotionalisation and growth" of the peoples' car.

According to the German automaker, the 'R' division currently employs a staff of more than 350 people.

Bundled together nicely under R will be the R vehicles (currently limited to the Golf R and Scirocco R), development of R Line accessories, and a Volkswagen Exclusive unit that will help customers customize their VDubs to levels once thought only accessible to VW's yuppie brother Audi.

Have a look at some of the 'R' and 'R Line' vehicles in the gallery below.

- By Phil Alex

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