The hottest of hatches: Volkswagen’s 395-hp Golf R 400 confirmed for production

By Stephen Edelstein April 22, 2014

At the 2014 Beijing Motor Show, Volkswagen astonished the world by showing that it could extract 395 horsepower from a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine in the Golf R 400 concept.

What’s even more astonishing than that? The fact that you may be able to buy one soon.

At the show, Volkswagen research and development chief Heinz-Jakob Neusser told Car and Driver that this hottest of hot hatchbacks will be built.

It turns out that VW didn’t have to make many modifications to the stock 2015 Golf R’s EA288 engine – which produces 290 hp in U.S. trim – to come up with the R 400’s prodigious power output.

The engine reportedly received only minor revisions to deal with added turbocharger boost, and is apparently capable of handling 395 hp without leaving scores of warranty claims in its wake.

With that power, the Golf R 400 concept car can do 0 to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds, and reach a top speed of 174 mph.

There’s no reason why that performance shouldn’t change for the production version, but it’s unclear whether that car will make it to the U.S.

Enthusiasts on this side of the Atlantic had to fight to get previous versions of the R (although it’s now a regular part of VW’s U.S. product plans) so the R400’s arrival is not a foregone conclusion. In the meantime, the standard 2015 Golf R is set to launch here early next year.

VW may also use the souped-up R 400 engine in another one of its brand’s cars, possibly an Audi. Maybe the product planners should be a little more creative, though. Who wouldn’t want to see a 395-hp turbocharged Skoda?

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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