Volkswagen is looking to give its “R’ brand of performance models a new philosophy, one that would turn it into a more performance-oriented lineup that would be able to compete against Mercedes-AMG. According to Volkswagen sales and marketing boss Jurgen Stackmann, the move to unleash the R brand is possible, provided that its customers are willing to pay the increased cost that comes with exploring new levels of performance.

Does a more extreme Volkswagen ‘R” brand sound appealing? Volkswagen seems to think so, and it believes that it can unlock a new level of performance potential that we haven’t seen before. “The R brand is going extreme and can go extreme,” Stackmann said. “The role of R is that it can go beyond the pure rational; nobody needs a compact car with 400bhp, but there is a place, certainly, and that’s the turf of R.”

The possibilities that come with a more extreme version of the R brand is intriguing, and if Volkswagen really wanted to explore it, there are ways it can do that without having to completely shift away from the brand’s DNA. According to Stackmann, certain elements like a more expressive design can be accomplished for as long as there are good reasons to do it.

A car like the Mk8 Golf R, for example, is a good preview of sorts on what Volkswagen is capable of with the R line. The German automaker wants to have it compete against the 400-horsepower Mercedes-AMG A45. Doing so would require a few improvements on VW’s part — a significant bump in power from 300 to 400 horsepower is a priority — but the brand is more than willing to make that leap if there’s support behind it.

That’s the catch in all of this. If Volkswagen is to take this approach moving forward, it’s going to have to ask prospective customers to accept the increased cost that comes with exploring new levels of performance for the R line. “With a little more expressive design, R can go beyond the rational side of things,” Stackmann said. “It can find its place in a different league of pure performance, and there’s a space where customs are willing to pay a significant amount of money.”

Should Volkswagen end up doing it, the new strategy could even extend to its new family of I.D. electric car models. We’ve already seen what a more performance-oriented R could look like in recently launched I.D. R racer. If the 680-horsepower race car is a good preview of things to come for VW’s R line, then you might as well sign as up for that change.

References

Read our full review on the 2018 Volkswagen Golf R.

Read more Volkswagen news.