World's fastest VW scorches
By Jez Spinks | drive.com.au | 05 September
The fastest Volkswagen production car in the world has landed in Australia with plans to lure more driving enthusiasts to the German brand.
VW's Passat R36 is the third model in the company's relatively new R-series range of performance models, and is quicker than both the Golf R32 and Touareg R50 with a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of 5.6 seconds.
The R-series debuted locally in 2004 with the original Golf R32 (based on the fourth-generation Golf), and VW Australia boss Jutta Dierks says the sporty range is designed to get buyers more excited about Volkswagens.
"We're a volume manufacturer and obviously attractive to a lot of people, but if you want to be seen as an innovative manufacturer you need to add some emotion," says Dierks.
"People need a reason to buy a car. And our R-series models provide that kind of emotion because these cars are very capable."
Dierks says current VW owners upgrade from regular models to the R-series cars, but that the R32, R36 and R50 help to attract people from other brands.
"There is no doubt these kind of cars are performance driven, and people are attracted to cars like this," she says. "We can already see there is a lot of interest [in the new R36] from customers from other brands. "
Dierks says all performance car drivers are in VW's target group for the R36 but that it's difficult to pinpoint specific rivals for the R36.
"We compete with some [rivals] because of performance, and we compete with others because of size," she says.
The Passat R36 is available in both sedan and wagon form and costs $64,990 and $66,990 respectively. It also follows the R-series naming strategy that's based on engine size.
While the Golf R32 features a 184kW 3.2-litre V6 and the Touareg R50 has a 258kW twin-turbo 5.0-litre V10 diesel, the R36 is powered by a 3.6-litre V6 with 220kW and 350Nm.
Fuel consumption is 10.7L/100km for both sedan and wagon.
The engine is mated only to a six-speed DSG (dual-clutch semi-auto) transmission only. No manual gearbox is available.
As with other R models, the R36 employs VW's 4Motion all-wheel-drive system that will divert torque to the rear wheels for enhanced traction if it detects the front wheels losing grip.
The V6 can propel the R36 sedan and wagon to an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h, though the more practical variant is two-tenths slower (5.8sec) from 0-100km/h.
The R36 stands out from the regular Passat by sharing common design cues with other R-series models, including a chrome V-shaped grille, enlarged front air intakes, large, multi-spoke alloy wheels, dual exhaust pipes and rear roof spoiler.
As the range-topping Passat, the R36 as expected features more standard equipment. These include bi-xenon headlights, 10-speaker audio system, aluminium pedals and door sills, leather sports steering wheel, metallic paint, and 12-way electrically adjustable driver and front passenger seats.
First published by Drive.com.au on September 05 2008
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