► VW Golf GTI First Decade
► Hybrid GTI built by apprentices
► 404bhp plus 12kW motor
The Golf R400 hyper hatch may be dead and buried but the apprentices at Wörthersee have other ideas. This beast is the VW Golf GTI First Decade, built for the annual VW event and comes with 404bhp.
The days of the chav-tastic Max Power-like hot hatch are still with us, but the culture of cramming as much power into a small car as possible and painting it a funny colour has (finally) moved into the 21st Century. So, not only does the First Decade car have 404 mighty horses powering the front wheels, but a 12kW 48-volt electric system powering the rears, too.
The First Decade car can be powered by the engine alone in front-wheel drive, the electric system alone in rear-wheel drive or altogether with all four wheels being driven for maximum attack. Performance figures aren’t known yet, but with stats like that it’s sure to be jolly fast.
VW promises that the car can be parked or used ‘for short distances in residential areas’ in super-silent electric mode only. The electric system also means regenerative braking is possible to charge the batteries.
It also wouldn’t be a Wörthersee show car without having some sort of lurid paintjob either, would it? The First Decade car is finished in Atlantic Blue with foil graphics pasted along the side and exterior tweaks include the rear spoiler from the Clubsport model and huge 20-inch mb-Design alloy wheels.
Inside, not a huge amount has changed from the driver’s perspective save for some handmade black nappa and Alcantara seats and some tacky blue interior trim. Well that and the absolutely enormous 1690-watt stereo system that completely replaces the rear seats. What else could a boy racer need?
Check out our review of the Golf GTI Clubsport, first revealed at Wörthersee 2015, here