VW Creates Virtual Golf GTI VI Slot Car Race Game

Once in a while, automakers and their marketing teams come up with up an idea that's actually quite cool. Such is the case with Volkswagen's "GTI Project", a new virtual slot car game that you can play online from the comfort of your office chair -just don't get caught. The Scalectric track that was constructed by a team of 60 modelers and features some 200 scale buildings is truly massive measuring 30ft by 25ft (9.1meters x 7.6meters) while the Golf GTI slot car itself is a 1:43 scale replica. Give it a try and remember to have a little perseverance around the corners...

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

VW Launches new Eos GT Sport with Black Rooftop and Sporty Upgrades

Just when you though Volkswagen had run out of ideas for special edition models, the German firm goes and creates another one. If you live in Europe, say hello to the new Eos GT Sport model that is distinguished on the outside by its mainly due to the black colored retractable hardtop with tinted rear windows and 18-inch alloy wheels. The special edition version also adds chrome grille slats, darkened headlights and 'cherry-red' tail lamps along with a lower stance thanks to the standard sport suspension that lowers the ride height by 15mm.

The new special edition Eos also features numerous upgrades in the interior including aluminum sport pedals, heated front seats in leather / Alcantara and a new three-spoke leather steering wheel with gray decorative stitching. Furthermore, the coupe-convertible's standard equipment has been enhanced with the addition of a 'Climatronic' air conditioning, an upgraded audio system with a six-pack CD changer and a parking sensor.

The Eos GT Sport package is available with all powertrain options that range in Europe from the 122HP 1.4-liter TSI to the 260HP 3.2-liter V6.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

Mcchip VW Golf GTI VI with 252HP to Premiere at Tuning World Bodensee

If the new Volkswagen Golf GTI's 210 horsepower turbocharged four pot isn't powerful enough for you, the tuners at Mcchip have readied a rather straightforward performance package that will be officially revealed at this week's Tuning World Bodensee in Germany. A quick ECU tune that has been priced at €849 (around US$1,150) adds another 42HP and 100Nm or 74lb-ft bringing the total output of the 2.0 TSI to 252HP and 380Nm or 280lb-ft of torque.

In addition to the engine software upgrade, Mcchip's tuning proposal for the 2009 VW Golf GTI also includes a sport suspension kit from H&R that brings the hot hatch a few inches closer to the ground as well as beefier 19-inch alloy wheels in a black finish from OZ plus a set of 'racing-stripes' available in various colors.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

Volkswagen Launches New Eos "Edition 2010"

Maybe it's a thing of the spring, but European automakers are revealing one special edition model after the other lately. This times it's Volkswagen that has announced a new special version of the Eos coupe-convertible called "Edition 2010". Initially available only for the German market, this model's specialness comes from the extra convenient features and the design package "Chrome & Style" that adds a chromed grille, LED tailights in 'cherry red' and a two-tone leather interior trim that covers the seats, door panels and the steering wheel.

In terms of equipment upgrades, the Eos Edition 2010 gains heated front seats, a "Climatronic" air condition system and an enhanced radio-navigation system with touch-screen.

The Eos "Edition 2010" is available with four gasoline engines ranging from 122 to 260HP and a 2.0-liter diesel with 140HP. Prices in Germany start from €30,550.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

VW Group Confirms new Minicars for VW, Seat and Skoda Brands

The Volkswagen Group has revealed that it will introduce a new family of small cars based on the Up! prototypes for the VW, Seat and Skoda brands. Europe's largest carmaker announced that it has also taken the decision to build all variants of the minicar that are known as "New Small Family" at its Bratislava plant in Slovakia. The first examples of the city cars that will be available in 3-door and 5-door versions will roll off the production lines at the beginning of 2011.

"Our team at Volkswagen in Slovakia is ideally prepared to provide the flexibility required for the production of the New Small Family. Four brands are already produced successfully under one roof at our plant in Bratislava today," said Professor Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft.

The first study for these economical city cars, the three -door Up!, made its world debut at the Frankfurt Show in 2007 followed a few weeks later by a five-door iteration called Space-Up! at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show while VW also introduced a third variant at the 2007 Los Angeles Show called the Space-Up! Blue.

Even though the Up! concept studies featured a rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, it remains to be seen if the VW Group retains this architecture on the production versions.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

New VW Passat Lingyu: Skoda-Based Sedan Makes World Debut in Shanghai

On the opening day of the Auto Shanghai 2009, Volkswagen lifted the covers on its new domestic market mid-size sedan, the Passat Lingyu. For those that like paying attention to details, the Lingyu is essentially a previous-generation Skoda Superb with a new front and rear-end design. If you're not already confused, then this will help: in turn, the previous Skoda Superb was based on the last generation Passat featuring a longer wheelbase and different nose and tail design...

Like its Czech counterpart, the Passat Lingyu has a 2803mm long wheelbase offering plenty of space for the rear passengers. Volkswagen's China-built Passat will be available with various powertrains including a V6 engine and a 1.8-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder gasoline unit with 160HP that returns 6.2lt/100km or 38mpg US.

During VW's press conference in Shanghai, Dr. Winfried Vahland, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, said: "VW sales figure in the first quarter of this year has clearly exceeded our expectation at the beginning of the year. We have complemented our product portfolio with our new locally produced stars Passat New Lingyu and New Golf. Additionally, we have displayed the most advanced and environment-friendly technologies."

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

New VW Golf GTD VI Priced from £21,850 in the UK

The diesel-powered equivalent of the new Golf GTI, the GTD, will be arriving on UK shores on June 22 with a base price of £21,850 RRP 'on the road' for the three-door, six-speed manual model, Volkswagen announced. Those that prefer the practicality of the five-door model will have to pay a £585 premium while the six-speed dual-clutch DSG automatic gearbox will cost you an extra £1,305.

The new Golf GTD is powered by 2.0-litre 4-cylinder common rail diesel engine, producing 170HP and a generous 258 lbs ft of torque channeled to the front-wheels via a six-speed manual or automatic DSG gearbox. The 0-62mph (100km/h) sprint is completed in of 8.1 seconds while the GTD achieves a top speed of 138mph or 222km/h returning an average of 53.3mpg UK (44.3mpg US) with CO2 emissions of 139g/km.

The GTD's standard equipment includes 17-inch alloy wheels, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, a leather gearshift, tartan cloth interior, ABS, ESP (Electronic Stabilisation Programme) and seven airbags.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

New Golf GTD	Fuel economy, combined mpg UK	Price, £ (RRP OTR)
2.0-litre TDI 170 PS 6-spd manual 3dr	53.3	21,850
2.0-litre TDI 170 PS 6-spd manual 5dr	53.3	22,435
2.0-litre TDI 170 PS 6-spd DSG 3dr	50.4	23,155
2.0-litre TDI 170 PS 6-spd DSG 5dr	50.4	23,740

VW Scirocco GT24-CNG to enter Nurburgring 24h Race

For this year's 24-hour endurance race at the Nurburgring in Germany on May 23-24, Volkswagen has readied two natural-gas-powered Scirocco models that will participate alongside three gasoline-powered 325HP Scirocco GT24s with which the automaker took a one-two victory in the 2.0-litre turbo class at the 2008 race. The two Scirocco GT24-CNGs use a modified version of the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that has been designed to runs on natural gas.

The result is an output of just under 300 horsepower and 350Nm or 258-lbs/ft of torque which continue to be transmitted to the front wheels through a six-speed dual-clutch DSG gearbox operated by paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

Volkswagen said that as a fuel, natural gas is particularly eco-friendly as well as very cost-effective reducing on average CO2 emissions by 25 percent compared with conventional spark ignition engines.

"The Scirocco GT24 already proved its strengths as a dynamic sports coupe by clinching class victory in its debut race last year," said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "In 2009, we are taking yet another step forwards by using two different engine concepts. We want to prove that Volkswagen offers different powertrain concepts, all of which excel in terms of high efficiency, dynamics and reliability. The Nordschleife and the 24-Hour Race provide an ideal test bed for this purpose."

The two natural gas-powered Scirocco GT24-CNG cars will be driven by Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg (D), Board Member for Technical Development of the Volkswagen Brand, and journalists Bernd Ostmann (D), Peter Wyss (CH) and John Barker (GB) as well as touring car ace Peter Terting (D), Nordschleife expert Thomas Klenke (D), former DTM driver Vanina Ickx (B) and touring car legend Klaus Niedzwiedz (D), two-time overall winner of the 24 Hours on the Nürburgring.

The team of one of the three petrol-powered Scirocco GT24 cars will consists of "Dakar" winner Giniel de Villiers (ZA), two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz (E) as well as Dieter Depping (D).

The other Scirocco GT24 will be driven by last year's winners Jimmy Johansson (S) and Florian Gruber (D) as well as Nicki Thiim (DK) and Martin Karlhofer (A), while the third car's team will include formula racing specialists Congfu Cheng (CN), Carlo van Dam (NL) and Franck Mailleux (F) as well as the two-time 24-H overall winner Altfrid Heger (D).

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

New Volkswagen Tiguan R Line: It's all about the Looks

Volkswagen will be launching a spicier looking version of its Tiguan SUV in the UK this summer. Designed and built by the firm's Individual division, the R Line model features visual changes over the standard Tiguan through a sporty package but no increase in power. The basis for the new R Line is the Sport model which has been adorned with a body-colored front splitter sitting below the front bumper along with a unique matt chrome grille section and blistered wheel arches that surround new R Line 19-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels fitted with 255/40 tires.

There's also a set of subtle body-color sill extensions complete with matt chrome highlights fitted into the new rear bumper that comes with a small diffuser element. Finally, a small spoiler sits at the top of the rear window to complete the new look.

For the interior, VW Individual equipped the Tiguan R Line with a new flat-bottomed multifunction steering wheel joined by aluminium pedals and trim plus a set of contoured sports seats complete with 'R' logos New R Line. Furthermore, a two-zone climate control is also fitted as standard.

VW offers the new R Line model with a range of 2.0-litre TDI common rail diesel engines in 140HP and 170HP outputs as well as a 2.0-litre TSI engine developing 200HP. The Tiguan R Line can be specified with a choice of five colours; Candy White (pictured), Reflex Silver, Deep Black, Biscay Blue and Mountain Grey.

In the UK, the new Tiguan R Line is due to arrive in showrooms in June with prices starting at £24,635 for the 2.0-litre 140HP model rising to £26,305 for the 2.0-litre TSI range-topping engine.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com