The 33rd Worthersee->ke94 meeting has come with its fair share of unique and attractive concepts. But the Volkswagen Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition stands on a level all its own. It's special not because of its significance in celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Golf->ke164, but because the people behind the development of the vehicle are 12 apprentice designers from Volkswagen->ke94 and Sitech Sitztechnik, aged 18 to 23.

The Volkswagen Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition is the brainchild of four women and eight men, each of whom, you can argue, has a bright future in the auto industry. Development of the car took nine months and it was far from easy too.

These budding designers spent all those hours planning, testing, and implementing all the ideas they learned while spending time with some of the finest designers in the industry, including project manager and instructor Holger Schülke. Under Schülke's guidance, the designers created the Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition using a standard Golf GTI Performance.

From there, the designers went to work, putting all the knowledge they've learned into good use, thus creating a unique Golf GTI that not only looks as sexy as the past six apprentice GTI models to debut in Worthersee, but also showcases the immense design talent Volkswagen has developed on its own in recent years.

Click past the jump to read more about the 2014 Volkswagen Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition.

2014 Volkswagen Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2014 Volkswagen Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition
  • Engine/Motor: inline-4
  • Horsepower: 375
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Pros
Cons

Exterior

The young Volkswagen apprentices didn't go crazy on the exterior of the Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition. That's a good thing because the sports hatch already looks intimidating with that Absolute Red paint finish and the Black Magico Pearl decor stripes running down its length, fading as it approaches the rear section to create a visual representation of the first-generation Golf GTI. If the colors aren't impressive enough in their own right, consider that the designers hand-painted every crevice and corner of this car, even applying several layers of polish to create a flawless appearance, and you'll begin to see why the model looks ridiculously impeccable.

The Wolfsburg skyline even makes a special appearance inside one of the black stripes, featuring eight of the city's most famous landmarks, including the Volkswagen Arena, the Volkswagen power plant, and Volkswagen's headquarters. Way to toot your own horn, Volkswagen.

New aerodynamic features were also added to the overall program. These include the installation of spoilers and claw-type inserts on the front bumper of the hatch, as well as new door sills, a rear spoiler with additional flaps, and an equally new rear diffuser.

Interior

The exterior of the Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition may be fairly basic, but the real treat of the whole vehicle lies in the interior. The red-and-black color scheme of the vehicle is also displayed in the cabin, particularly in the two Recaro bucket seats and the rear bench, which VW dressed in black leather upholstery with matching red stripes over the headrests and the GTI tartan covering the inverted side bolsters.

The apprentices also installed a number of technological elements, turning the car's cabin as a technologically advanced cocoon of gadgetry. Fix your attention to the front section and you'll also notice the hand-crafted center console that now comes with an integrated, stowable iPhone Docking Station. Even the instrument panel owes its appearance to the designers' use of 3-D printing, specifically the charge air pressure display, which is a one-off part produced by Volkswagen's research department.

Turn your gaze now on the interior door trims and you'll see the same Wolfsburg skyline on the exterior of the car. Instead of being a decal, the door trims' skyline was created using a unique embossing technique that makes it pop straight out of the leather.

Finally, designers of the Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition installed a rather ridiculous audio system that features an output of 2,170 watts and 11 speakers. Those are probably enough to carry the sound of the PlayStation sitting in the trunk of the car, which if look closer, also includes a monobloc amplifier with integrated LED lighting, a powerful subwoofer, and a 24-inch LED-LCD TV.

Drivetrain

If you needed any more proof that the Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition is a hot piece of hatchback, look no further than the modified 2.0-liter, TSI engine from the Golf R2 that the Volkswagen apprentices dropped in the car's engine bay. Unlike the standard Golf GTI that produces 210 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, the Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition carries 380 PS (375 horsepower) under its hood. Twist numbers weren't announced but we anticipate it to be close to around 400 pound-feet of torque.

That should allow it to hit 60 mph in around five seconds to go with a top speed in excess of 155 mph. These are just estimates, though, so take them for what they're worth.

Type

2.0-l TSI engine

Output (HP @ RPM)

375 @ TBA

Torque

TBA


Prices

Volkswagen didn't announce a price for the one-off creation, nor do we think it will. But if it were to hit the market, wouldn't $40,000 be a fair price for it?

Competition

Mercedes A45 AMG

In the event the Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition does hit the market, look for it to compete against the Mercedes A45 AMG.

The high-powered Merc hatch is far from a lightweight contender when lined up against this one-off Golf. It's got that new Mercedes design down a tee and is complemented by sporty and muscular AMG components like the "twin blade" radiator grille and the matte titanium grey AMG front apron.

More importantly, the Mercedes A45 AMG is a bonafide pocket rocket in its own right. It features a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine that produces 360 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque, allowing it to successfully sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds to go with a top speed of 155 mph.

BMW M135i

The BMW M135i is another noteworthy contender to the Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition. The M135i is the high-performance version of the company's 1 Series line. It also ended up being BMW's answer to every high-powered sports hatch to enter the market.

The M135i can definitely handle that billing, largely because of its 3.0-liter, straight-six-cylinder engine with M Performance TwinPower Turbo technology. All together, the M135i is capable of delivering 320 horsepower to go with a 0-to-60-mph time of just 5.1 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph.

Conclusion

The car isn't likely to hit production so that's a major bummer. It would've been nice if Volkswagen signed off on at least a limited run of models, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. The Volkswagen Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition looks and performs that well, which is why a lot of bubbles will be burst the longer no production announcements are made over there in Wolfsburg.