This year's edition of the Wörthersee Festival has been canceled — blame the ill-fated virus. However, it was not an impediment for Volkswagen apprentices to show what they were preparing for this year's edition: the Golf GTE HyRACER, which was eventually revealed at the Autostadt, a Volkswagen complex in Germany.
Starting from the previous generation Golf GTE (VII), 13 Volkswagen apprentices — selected from different German dealers — tried to give the plug-in hybrid a much more muscular and sporty appearance than the car we know.
First they started by adding a body kit that makes the Golf GTE HyRACER a considerable 80mm wider than the original car.
Something that can be seen by the new flared fenders, which are accompanied by new, more aggressive-looking front and rear bumpers. In these we find a new front splitter and a new rear diffuser. Rounding off the changes made to the body there is also a new rear spoiler with integrated brake light, taken from Arteon, as a double exhaust outlet.
Subscribe to our newsletter
To fill the generous wheel arches, we find 19-inch wheels, designed by the apprentices themselves, wrapped in 265 mm wide rubber.
In terms of the chassis, there are also several differences between the Golf GTE HyRACER and the Golf GTE on which it is based. The sports suspension is also adaptive and allows you to reduce ground clearance by 40 mm. The front brake discs have also grown, now being a massive 380 mm in diameter.
The engine also didn't remain unscathed, but the numbers didn't grow as much as the appearance of the Golf GTE HyRACER suggests. From the original 204 hp we now have 250 hp — five hp more than the new Golf GTE.
Inside, we also found a lot of differences. Alcantara was the material chosen to cover the dashboard, the door panels and the steering wheel — which has a blue mark at 12 o'clock, a detail taken from the competition. Also noteworthy are the sports seats with integrated headrests, which include the GTE HyRACER designation.
Finally, the luggage compartment of the Golf GTE HyRACER “hide” a surprise. There are two small electric scooters, which can be charged by the car itself — being a plug-in hybrid, it has a battery big enough for this task.
As a curiosity, and as you may have already guessed, HyRACER results from the combination of the word Hybrid (hybrid) with Racer (runner).