The Volkswagen Concept R is a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

developed by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

automaker The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such a ...

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

and officially unveiled at the September 2003

Frankfurt Auto Show The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility shows. It cons ...

. It is a study of a sporty two seat roadster, with

mid-engine In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...

and

rear wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel ...

. The Concept R is powered by a V6 3.2 L FSI

petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...

developing a maximum output of at 6,250 rpm and of torque at 2,800 rpm. It is strong enough to accelerate the car from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds, and make it reach the electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). Without the speed governor, the car would be even able to reach the top speed of 270 km/h (167 mph). The power is transferred to the road via a six speed

direct-shift gearbox A direct-shift gearbox (DSG, german: Direktschaltgetriebe) is an electronically-controlled, dual-clutch, multiple-shaft, automatic gearbox, in either a transaxle or traditional transmission layout (depending on engine/drive configuration), w ...

. The designer team for this concept was led by

Murat Günak Murat Günak (born 9 August 1957, Istanbul) is a Turkish car designer and former head designer of Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz. Career Günak studied design at Hochschule für Bildende Künste (Academy of Fine Arts) in Kassel and then studied a ...

and

Peter Schreyer Peter Schreyer (born 1953) is a German automobile designer widely known for his design contributions to the Audi TT. He has been the chief design officer at Kia Motors since 2006 and, on 28 December 2012, he was named one of three presidents of ...

, and broke the ground for the Volkswagen brand in developing the roadster vehicle. At of length, of width and of height, the Concept R roadster has almost the same length and width as the fifth generation

Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...

hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...

, on whose platform it has been built. The concept has some interesting design features such as the Volkswagen logo, which is generated digitally by a display and begins to pulsate in the so-called

OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...

screen when the driver turns on the ignition. When the ignition is activated, the pulse stops. Also, its seats are not adjustable in any way and the driver must electrically move the polished metal information block of the instrument panel, including the steering wheel and pedal cluster back or forth to find the correct seating position. For the first time in a sports car, the seats are filled with active foam which adapts to the body shape of the driver and passenger. At a press dinner held during the 2005

North American International Auto Show The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), also known as the Detroit Auto Show as of 2022 and prior to NAIAS, is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., at Huntington Place. The show was held in January from 1989 to 2019. ...

Bernd Pischetsrieder Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder (born 15 February 1948) is a German automobile engineer and manager. Early life and education Pischetsrieder was born in Munich, Bavaria, and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich fro ...

, the chairman of the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

, confirmed that Volkswagen intended to build a production vehicle similar to this concept. As of , no production model has appeared, however another, similar, concept car, the Volkswagen Concept BlueSport, was unveiled at the 2009

External links and references

RSportsCars.com
- with story and both exterior and interior pictures
Dr. Pischetsrieder confirms Concept R production
- from VWvortex {{Volkswagen Concept R