Although it’s been remoured for a while now, Volkswagen have finally confirmed that they are setting up a specialised division to focus on sporty and exclusive models. The new company, Volkswagen R GmbH, will be responsible for the development, implementation and sales of high performance or more luxurious versions of the Volkswagen range. For hot hatch fans things are off to a good start already with the excellent Golf R, which sits alongside the Scirocco R as an example of the new range-topping performance models.
Volkswagen have clearly been inspired by the success of its fellow countrymen. Mercedes have AMG to tune up their range while BMW have their ‘M’ Division, both of which produce some very desirable performance models that help to give a halo effect to the more mundane offerings in the showrooms. Volkswagen will be hoping that their new ‘R’ models will be able to sprinkle a bit of magic across the rest of the company’s models.
The new company has its headquarters in Warmenau near Wolfsburg, Germany, and already employs over 350 staff. Looks like Volkswagen are serious about this, so expect quite a few R models in the coming months. How about a new Polo R, that should keep us hot hatch fans happy!
