Volkswagen

Exactly one year ago, Volkswagen revealed a camper dubbed the California XXL Concept. It was an early look at a production model they actually put into production just now. Scheduled for live unveiling at the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon that will start later this month, the Volkswagen Grand California is a production version of the last year’s concept and it is every bit of awesome as you may imagine. Forget about the Airstream, or anything similar. This is better, but you can’t have it because Volkswagen Commercial vehicles aren’t available in the U.S.

Alfa Romeo is making so much noise these days that even its rivals have begun to take notice. Hyundai (not really a rival) has made it clear it plans to compete against the Italian automaker. Now, Volkswagen wants a piece of Alfa Romeo, too. But instead of directly competing against the marquee, Volkswagen is looking for SEAT to do it. The thought of SEAT competing against Alfa Romeo may sound ridiculous on the surface, but the Spanish automaker has made great strides toward improving its identity in recent years. So much so, in fact, that competing against a legacy brand that’s having a renaissance of sorts isn’t something that any of us can dismiss outright.

Volkswagen introduced the Tanoak Concept at the New York Auto Show with the intention of gauging the public’s interest in the possibility of a production model. It’s taken a bit of time to read into the fleshed-out pickup’s reception, but it looks like there’s momentum within VW that a production model is something that can’t be dismissed outright. No decision has been made yet, and don’t expect one to be announced soon, but a production version of the Tanoak isn’t dead yet.

Understeer is a bitch. Oversteer? Give us loads of the stuff, because if you know how to counter steer, you can rotate the car just fine with the throttle. But understeer, that thing where the car doesn’t turn? It’s the stuff of nightmares, especially on a track as dangerous as the Nürburgring.

Continue reading for the full story.

Established in 2015, the TCR series has become increasingly popular with each season, now being contested by several automakers from Europe and Asia. Volkswagen is one of them, having joined the series with a race-spec version of the Golf GTI in 2016. Following the first full season, in which the Golf GTI TCR won 17 races and two championships, the German firm made improvements to the car in order to continue its good run.

The hatchback’s aerodynamics were updated, while the technology under the hood has also been fine-tuned. The updated car was again used by Liqui Moly Team Engstler, which tackled the German ADAC TCR, TCR Asia, and the TCR Middle East series. The revised GTI also returned to the International TCR series with Team Leopard Racing, which won the championship the previous year. Let’s find out what’s new in the review below.

Continue reading to learn more about the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR.

Launched in 2017, the T-Roc is Volkswagen’s smallest crossover yet. Built on the MQB platform that underpins several Volkswagen Group vehicles, it’s related to the Audi Q2 and Seat Arona and competes against the likes of the Nissan Juke, Toyota C-HR, and Renault Captur. Ever since it arrived in showrooms, there have been rumors that Volkswagen may develop a GTI version of the mini SUV. Come 2018, and the beefed-up crossover was spotted testing on public roads.

Performance-oriented models are quite rare in this niche. Although the segment is populated by at least ten models from various companies in Europe, none of them are available with power upgrades. Nissan used to offer a Nismo version of the Juke, or even the extreme, GT-R-powered Juke-R, but these variants are no longer available. This means that the T-Roc GTI will be a unique model and will have the entire market to itself. At least for a while. Let’s find out what it may bring to the table in the speculative review below.

This weekend saw the 25th running of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and with it, a host of impressive machinery came out to strut their stuff up the short hillclimb course. While there was certainly no shortage of fast cars on hand, one in particular stood out from the rest, as the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak managed to reset the record books for all-electric racers at the event.

Continue reading for the full story.

It’s been a long time coming, and it’s finally here; well, kind of. Volkswagen has released an official design sketch of its smallest crossover, revealing its rear; and also a video that gives us a few more details. The car was showcased at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show and is expected to make its debut in 2019. Is this T-Roc baby as impressive as the big brother?

The current iteration of the Volkswagen Beetle may not be long for this world, but the “Beetle” nameplate could live on in the form of a four-door, battery-powered electric car. As strange as it sounds, that’s the word coming out of the German automaker. A revolutionary new Beetle is already being considered by VW execs, and it’s not going to come in the shape of the model that we’re used to seeing.

New spy shots of the Polo-based Volkswagen T-Cross are giving us a clear idea of what to expect when the smallest member of VW’s crossover family hits dealerships next year. The T-Cross was seen testing in and around the Nurburgring with heavy camouflage covering its front and rear sections. The crossover’s design elements are slowly unraveling, and from the looks of it, the T-Cross is going to be what we all thought it’d be. It’s a high-riding Volkswagen Polo with some design elements culled from its big brother, the T-Roc.

Hot on the wheels of the Volkswagen I.D. R’s record-breaking run at the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, Volkswagen is setting its sights on a new record, this time at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah. As part of its goal of breaking the Southern California Timing Association’s BGC/G class record, the German automaker is preparing a heavily modified version of the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. Among the upgrades that will be included is a heavily modified version of VW’s 2.0-liter, turbocharged, EA888 four-cylinder engine.

Volkswagen’s all-electric I.D. R hummed its way into Pikes Peak lore after smashing the International Hillclimb’s record with a time of 7:57.148, becoming the first-ever race car to complete the 12.42-mile course in under eight minutes. The record-setting run happened over the weekend, etching the car and its driver, Romain Dumas, into the Pike Peak International Hillclimb record books.

The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is just days away, and it already looks like Volkswagen and its I.D. R Pikes Peak Racer is going to propose itself as a strong proposition, setting the fastest qualifying time thus far.

In a surprising move, Ford and the Volkswagen Group announced today that they are seeking a strategic alliance to increase competitiveness in the segment of commercial vehicles. Representatives of both companies addressed the public explaining that the potential alliance will enable them “to better serve the evolving needs of customers globally.”

The European version of the Volkswagen Passat is set to get a facelift for the 2019 model year, bringing it more in line with the new look of the new Volkswagen Arteon and maybe even bring some new updated engines and technology into play as well. It was recently spotted being put through the general testing phase, so it’s time to get the speculation mill running at full speed.

The 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is rapidly approaching, and Volkswagen will be there to challenge the standing course record with this - the I.D. R, an all-electric racer purpose-built for the job. The event is set to take place at the end of the month, but VW is already onsite in Colorado, prepping for the big day with a few test runs in an effort to sort out any lingering issues with the new racing machine. Chronicling the latest efforts is this 2-minute, 46-second teaser vid, which shows the I.D. R in action alongside an interview with its driver, Romain Dumas.

All told, the I.D. R certainly has the right specs for something like this. In addition to simply ludicrous aero, this carbon monster is powered by a dual-motor powertrain making 671 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, enough to propel it to 60 mph in just 2.25 seconds.

That’s quick, but Mr. Dumas has the skills to make it work, boasting a resume that includes wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Nurburgring, and 12 Hours of Sebring, not to mention outright victories at Pikes Peak in 2014, 2016, and 2017.

That said, even the best driver and car in the world won’t make this a cake walk. The Pikes Peak course is highly technical and extremely dangerous, composed of 156 turns spread over 12.42 miles, rising nearly 5,000 feet. The finish line towers above the surrounding landscape at 14,110 feet above sea level, which has a profound effect on cooling and aerodynamics, not to mention the driver’s mental state.

Will VW pull it off? Tune in June 24th to find out.

The Volkswagen Golf R has always been a traditional go-to in the hatchback market. More specifically, it’s the go-to for guys that want performance. Unfortunately, it kind of trails behind the competition with models like the Honda Civic Type R and the Focus RS, among others, delivering more power and better performance times. Volkswagen now reports, via AutoExpress, that all that that’s going to change with the next-gen model in 2020. The word? The Golf R will deliver at least 400 horsepower. There’s going to be a trade-off, though.

In case you hadn’t heard, Volkswagen is pivoting to a greener, more eco-friendly approach to building its cars, offering up plans to produce a host of new all-electric models over the next several years. Spearheading this new direction is a range of vehicles dubbed the I.D. family, which includes concepts like the Buzz minivan and Crozz four-door crossover. However, doesn’t think the I.D. range will be the death of go-fast VW’s - quite the opposite, in fact, as VW is also prepping a little something labeled I.D. for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado this June. It’s called the I.D. R, and it’s the company’s first-ever all-electric race car, purpose-built to tackle the Race to the Clouds. If ever there was a worthwhile application of VW’s EV tech, this is it. Mind the wing.

Continue reading to learn more about the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak.

The Volkswagen Atlas was expected to be a model that slotted between Tiguan and the Touareg, but for some reason, VW thought it needed another SUV that was larger than its largest SUV. Then again, the Touareg was one of VW’s many pushes into the luxury market it has no business trying to compete in. To put it simply, nobody wants to pay that much for a Volkswagen when you can get an Audi badge instead. Be that as it may, the Atlas came onto the scene looking sexy and spacious with a decent price and plentiful interior. And, as Volkswagen’s latest SUV offering, and a pretty one at that, we decided to make it our wallpaper of the day. We’ve hand-picked one that’s getting screen time at Top Speed headquarters, but we’ve also included a full lineup of wallpapers at the bottom of the page. Check ‘em out at take your favorite.

It looks like Volkswagen has learned from the past and will introduce the ID Hatchback with a look that is near identical to the 2016 I.D. Concept. Of course, there will be a few things changed here and there, but a new report from Autocar claims that it is essentially the concept. This is exciting news, and what won’t carry over is completely understandable. Keep reading to find out.

For a while now the word has been that Apple dropped the idea of building its own self-driving car in order to develop software that it could license to other companies. Of course, that’s a hard pill to swallow considering the stance it takes will all of its software and it’s hardware exclusivity. Now, word has it that Apple has joined forces with Volkswagen which includes a deal to turn some of VW’s T6 Transport vans into self-driving pods to haul around Apple employees.

Unveiled in 2017 as a replacement for the ill-fated CC, the Arteon keeps Volkswagen active in the rather tiny four-door coupe segment. Sportier than its predecessor and boasting more premium features than ever, the Arteon could finally establish the German firm as a powerful player on the premium market. Now also available in R-Line trim, the Arteon just gained a special paint finish and a set of wheels from Vossen to become the Highlight Concept.

Based on the R-Line model, the Highlight Concept explores the Arteon’s "potential to make a statement on the show field." Granted, the sleek and wide stance give the sedan a unique place among Volkswagen cars, and we will probably see a wide range of aftermarket upgrades at the upcoming tuning shows. Volkswagen’s is far from radical, but it shows what you can do with special paint, a set of custom wheels, and a lowered suspension.

Continue reading to learn more about the Volkswagen Arteon R-Line Highlight Concept.