Normally concept cars are things of pure imagination: outrageous lights, wheels, doors, and what have you. But once in a while, there comes a concept car that seems almost ready to cross the line between design studio to showroom floor. Once such example is the Volkswagen Golf R 400—a car which, as it says on the tin, pushes out 400 horsepower. Concept car my a**!

Developing 100 horses more than the already insane Golf R, the Golf R 400 shows people what the folks at Volkswagen R GmbH—the brand’s sporting division can do. With its rally-derived engine, the Golf R 400 is powered by a 2.0-liter TSI engine with 450 Nm of torque. As a result, this propels the super car/hatchback from 0-100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds all the way up to an electronically-limited 280 km/h. Power is sent through Volkswagen’s 6-speed DSG (dual clutch) automatic and onto the 4Motion all-wheel drive system. Ensuring optimal grip, the Golf R 400 has a Haldex-5 coupling that activates even before a slip occurs pretty much preventing loss of traction.


Surprisingly enough, even with the additional power and torque, Volkswagen didn’t need to re-tweak the Golf R 400’s suspension and simply carries over the Golf R’s suspension even down to the 19-inch alloy (235/35R19) wheels. That said, the 19’s on the Golf R 400 is of a new design and are modified for optimal brake cooling.

Setting it apart from the more pedestrian Golf R, the Golf R 400 has a widened body (20 mm)—a design inspired by the Rallye Golf G60 from 1988.  The bottoms of the sides also carry carbon splitters. At the front, the Golf R 400 has a unique high-gloss radiator grille with a line painted in “Lemon Yellow”. There are also additional air intakes needed for the 400 horsepower engine’s cooling. At the back, the Golf R 400 follows its immediate predecessor, the Golf R 32 in having twin central exhaust pipes with a diameter of 110 mm. Inside, the Golf R 400 has Alcantara and Nappa leather trim in black and Lemon Yellow accents. There are also carbon fiber trim on the doors and dashboard.