(November 16, 2014) — Volkswagen will show the spectacular GTI Roadster concept car in for the first time in North America at the Los Angeles International Auto Show this week. First seen at the Wörthersee enthusiast festival in Austria in May, this car erases the boundaries between the virtual and real worlds and further demonstrates the bandwidth of the Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) architecture that underpins the new Golf, Golf GTI, e-Golf, and Golf R models.

The GTI Roadster is a Golf GTI show car that was originally created as a purely electronic CGI entity for the Sony PlayStation3 classic "Gran Turismo 6." The two-seat convertible is powered by a 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbocharged TSI engine that produces 503 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm; from just 2,000 revs, 369 lb-ft of that torque is available.



The power of the TSI engine is transferred to the 20-inch wheel-and-tire combination via a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission and a 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system. The lightweight, 3,133- pound sports car sprints from 0 to 60 mph in an estimated 3.5 seconds and goes onto a top track speed of 192 mph.

The GTI Roadster is the result of cooperation between Volkswagen and Sony Computer Entertainment. Klaus Bischoff, head of design at Volkswagen remarks: "When Sony asked us if we would develop a Vision GTI vehicle exclusively for the game to mark the 15th anniversary of Gran Turismo we didn't hesitate for a moment."



An in-house competition was immediately launched and young Volkswagen designers submitted their designs. The submissions were judged by Bischoff and none other than Kazunori Yamauchi, Director of Polyphony Digital and Vice-President of Sony Computer Entertainment—and the inventor of the "Gran Turismo series".

Yamauchi is a GTI fan. The Japanese executive has his own stable of sports cars that includes a Golf GTI, the iconic sporty compact. Bischoff and Yamauchi finally chose two designs, which were then developed further. Designers Malte Hammerbeck and Domen Rucigaj were in charge of developing the exterior, whilst Guillermo Mignot was responsible for the interior. The entire development process was realized on the computer and even the 3D model of the vehicle was virtual.

Together, the three colleagues formed a sort of "Vision GTI -GT6 task force," working with other designers. Just a few weeks later, their GTI Roadster was ready. Sony and Volkswagen unveiled the version for the virtual world of PlayStation3 on May 26 and three days later, Volkswagen unveiled the real GTI Roadster at the GTI festival in Reifnitz, Austria, as a tribute to fans of the Golf GTI and of "GT6."

From mid-June, "GT6" players were able to download the GTI Roadster, Vision Gran Turismo for PS3.

Most spectacular GTI ever. Since Volkswagen designers gave their imagination free rein in designing the "GTI Roadster" for the "GT6" game — and were able to overlook production constraints like price and production feasibility — the resulting car is certainly the most spectacular Golf GTI ever.

Bischoff said, "The Vision GT project offered a wonderful opportunity to sketch out extreme ideas and design elements of the GTI that are portrayed as vibrantly, dynamically and emotionally as possible. Further development of an unmistakable design and a love for detail reflect the high standards shared by the Volkswagen GTI and the 'Gran Turismo' by Sony PlayStation product brands.”

In designing the GTI Roadster, Volkswagen revolutionized the visual concept of the Design Vision GTI concept car that was presented at Wörthersee and the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2013. It was further developed, reinvented and sent into the future as a roadster, although there is still a link to the earlier car since Volkswagen used the Design Vision GTI to show how a race version of the Golf GTI might look. Like the Design Vision GTI, the Roadster keeps the principles of Volkswagen’s Design DNA and also incorporates the wild C-posts and side skirts, but expressed to a whole new level.

Both concept cars show the potential of Volkswagen’s Design DNA, and that the GTI will be around for a long time to come. The goal of the GTI Roadster was to push the Design Vision GTI concept to even greater extremes. The 98.2-inch wheelbase of the Roadster is significantly shorter than that of the production GTI and the "Design Vision GTI". With its minimal overhangs, low, 42.9-inch height, and 74.6-inch width, the 163.7-inch-long Roadster has jaw-dropping proportions.