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VW Golf R pre-order sells out in less than 11 hours

Volkswagen fans had to be pretty quick if they wanted to ensure their pre-order for one of the first 500 units of the 2015 Golf R to enter the US. The German brand opened the books online at at 12:01 AM EST, and according to company spokesperson Leigh Anne Sessions speaking to Autoblog, by around 10:30 AM EST all of them were snapped up. VW's pre-order page currently shows these vehicles as no longer available, and the company confirms the news on Twitter, as well. There's still a chance to get an early Golf R by signing up for the waiting list and hoping one of the 500 orders falls through. VW Customer Care will contact people if there's an opening. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This entire allotment of the Golf R comes in Lapiz Blue Metallic paint with VW's adaptive damper system, navigation, a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox and more. To further sweeten the pot, the company is also giving these folks a watch, key chain and certificate with their vehicle's VIN. The 500 models were priced at $39,090, plus $820 destination and delivery, but only $500 was required to reserve one online. The amount was refundable if a person backed out.

2021 Mazda3 Turbo vs. VW GTI | How the hot(ish) hatches compare

For the first time since 2013, Mazda is offering a hopped-up version of its compact hatchback and sedan, the Mazda3. But instead of the rip-snorting “wild child” of yore, this new 2021 Mazda3 Turbo is designed to provide impressive performance while being mature and livable. That sounds rather like the philosophy behind the ur-hot hatch, the 2021 Volkswagen GTI. Not only that, but they have similar performance at similar prices. And having driven both fairly recently, we figured there was no better time to have a look at their specs, talk about our impressions, and show you how they compare. Performance and Driving Impressions Both the Mazda and the VW come packing turbocharged four-cylinder engines, but going deeper reveals quite a few differences. The Mazda, with an extra 500 cc of displacement, makes the most power, and far and away the most torque. Its engine has a very different character to the VWÂ’s, though. The Mazda builds boost and power in an incredibly smooth and linear manner, so much so that it almost feels like a naturally aspirated engine. ItÂ’s precise and predictable, though it does lack a certain exhilaration. The GTI has that missing exhilaration thanks to a more noticeable rush of boost once the turbo is spooled up. ItÂ’s a stronger-feeling engine than the numbers suggest, too. If you donÂ’t keep the revs up, though, youÂ’ll find the GTI feeling a little slow at first until you have full boost. Both cars have very different drivetrains. The Volkswagen has the transmission advantage with your choice of either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. The manual is one of the better VW units with solid, snickety gates and reasonably short throws. The dual-clutch transmission offers incredibly smooth and wickedly quick shifts, but there's obviously less driver involvement. Both are a step up from the MazdaÂ’s more conventional six-speed automatic, the only option available. While it has decent shift logic, itÂ’s sluggish, particularly compared with the VW automatic. The advantage shifts when getting to the drive wheels. The Mazda features all-wheel drive, and it actively changes its torque split. It makes it easy for all that torque to get to the ground, mitigates torque steer, and helps give the car a neutral balance even under hard throttle. The GTI is only available with front-wheel drive.

VW agrees to halt next-gen rally car development to help others stay in WRC

Volkswagen has petitioned the FIA to hold on to the current specifications for cars in the World Rally Championship, according to Autosport.com. The move is evidently an effort to keep as many competitors in the sport as possible, despite the fact that using the current spec racers may actually hurt Volkswagen's chances at winning. The three factory teams currently competing in the WRC are at the end of a three-year homologation cycle at the end of 2013, and new cars are expected to bow next year. But developing new racers could cost as much as $4.7 million.
That price tag would put M-Sport (which fields Ford racers) out of the WRC game for 2014 and would put Citroën participation in question as well. VW has already begun work on the next iteration of its Polo R WRC, and the hatch has nabbed four wins in six rounds this season. Now it appears that car won't bow until at least 2015. The FIA has officially agreed to freeze homologation of new WRC cars until the end of next season.