When the 2010 Volkswagen GTI came first came out, I was instantly reminded of this car, the 2007 VW Golf GTI W12-650, an insane (and nearly undriveable, as it turns out) special made for the annual GTI festival in Austria.
I always figured the wide-mouth grille and the bottom-heavy haunches of the current-gen car owed something to this beast.
Mostly, this was a theory constructed in my mind, because I'd never laid any pictures side-by-side, until now.
Do you see it, too? Or is it just me?
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing
fuhteng says:
04:32 PM, 09/ 2/10
They're 3-door econoboxes painted white. They all look pretty similar. Especially since the 'new' GTI is so similar to what that little monster was based on.
konocar400h says:
04:45 PM, 09/ 2/10
After all these years I still think those Cuisinart blade wheels still look sharp. I know a lot of people dislike them, but IMHO they complete the car's look.
And that W12 thing is just insane, but I can see the resemblance. The large air dam in the front is the most similar feature.
sherief says:
05:33 PM, 09/ 2/10
No doubt, some of the design details there trickled into the new GTI.
carterbw77 says:
06:14 PM, 09/ 2/10
I see it! Such a solid look for this body type…although it is definitely a toned down look on the MKVI compared to the beast pictured on top. I am glad VW did away with the ‘Wide Mouth Bass’ look of the MKV….that is why I bought a MKVI.
f1ndler says:
06:21 PM, 09/ 2/10
They do look alike. The first time I saw the GTI W12 on a Top Gear I knew that this was how the MK6 will look like.
Do you guys plan to DYNO test your GTI? I just wander if 200 WHP is a myth?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0NK865qQlg
prndlol says:
07:17 PM, 09/ 2/10
The simularity is quite apparent even.
subytrojan says:
07:33 PM, 09/ 2/10
I can dig it!
Speaking of the GTI W12-650, here's Jezza's review of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlu5BS0jtMk
zcalvert says:
09:48 PM, 09/ 2/10
I thought it was pretty well known to anyone who follows cars that VW/Audi "concepts" are extremely similar to future production cars more often than not. obviously there are exceptions, but usually if they show something - a very similar production car is soon to follow.
cah11705 says:
09:50 PM, 09/ 2/10
The airdam and the grille really make them look similar. I actually never thought about that similarity until now.
opfreakx says:
04:54 AM, 09/ 3/10
how could they now look similar? the w12 was based on the production mkv, and the mkvi is also based on the mkv. There are difference in the mkv & mkvi platforms, but they are far more evolutionary, then a huge change between generations. The reason for that is the mkv was made too 'awesome'(and supposdly costly) and vw needed to make more cash off the platform.
Theres no sharp change like there was between say the mkiv, and mkv.
makakio says:
08:48 AM, 09/ 3/10
daddy like.
kingkhalas says:
09:25 AM, 09/ 3/10
the 2007 version looks way better.
supermonkey says:
11:53 PM, 09/ 4/10
I see it too...
eldaino2 says:
05:02 PM, 09/ 5/10
first thing i thought when i saw the new mk6. all three look good