VW is going to make the most of its new GTI, with three models joining what has already been a well received hot hatch. A 'GTD' variant using a 2.0-liter common rail diesel will go into production in April 2009, with 170 horses and nearly 260 lb.-ft. moving through either a six-speed manual or VW's DSG gearbox. The GTD will be sold at an €800 premium over its gasoline brother, and will get to 62 mph about a second slower in return for longer hauls between refills. After that, toward the end of 2009, comes the GTI 'Plus' that will push the car dangerously close to the Audi S3 and may spell the end of the current R32. A 60 hp bump over the standard GTI takes the Plus up to 270. The fun-to-drive factor should be raised with a seven-speed DSG transmission, and handling mastery will come courtesy of a Haldex all-wheel-drive system. The capstone: to help everyone get over the current and rather underwhelming R32, the hottest hotness is supposed to come in 2010 in the form of an R42. Swapping the current V6 for a 2.5-liter, turbocharged 5-cylinder that it will share with Audi's TT-RS and RS3, the raunchy R is rumored to get a chest-hair-growing 350 hp. If Auto Motor und Sport are to be believed, it will start rolling out of factories in November of 2009 at an undisclosed price.
In what may be the least shocking news you will read today, Volkswagen will indeed be launching a revised GTI model shortly after its recently revealed sixth-generation Golf (or, Rabbit, as it's known in the U.S.) hits the market. According to Autocar, the next GTI will steer even closer to its original hot hatch mission, with VW reportedly giving the new model a "harder edge" than the current GTI. Underhood, at least in Europe, will be the same 2.0L TFSI engine that powers the base Audi A5, featuring Audi's valvelift technology that helps it offer up 208 hp at 4300 RPM and 258 lb-ft at 1500 RPM. That ought to make for a very spirited, though still relatively frugal ride.
What may be even more interesting news, though, is the replacement for the R32 model. Volkswagen won't be keeping its narrow-angle V6 underhood any longer, instead opting for a high-boost 2.0L with 265 horses and an 'R' moniker. All-wheel drive is also on the menu. Sounds like a bargain Audi TT-S to us, to which we simply say, "yes, please."
We all know that keeping your tires properly inflated will prolong their tread life, help you burn less fuel and increase your safety. But finding a working air hose when you're away from your garage is like trying to find a working clock in an early-80's Buick.
This is probably what led Coda Development, a Czech Republic company, to invent a new self-inflating tire. Sure, self-inflating tires aren't new, they've been around for years on commercial vehicles and even a few passenger vehicles . But most of those systems use compressed air to keep the tires inflated.
Coda's new system uses a peristaltic pump built into the tire to constantly maintain air pressure. You may have seen a peristaltic pump used in hospitals to deliver intravenous drugs to patients. It's basically a spinning wheel pressed against a liquid-filled tube. As the wheel turns, it pushes the tube's contents through one end and pulls more in the other. In our case, your car's wheel is the wheel and your air-filled tire the tube. A valve ensures that your tire's pressure is always constant. Theoretically, the peristaltic pump is much simpler and therefore more reliable than a compressor-based system. It's also potentially lighter, cheaper and doesn't require a power source. Sounds like a darn smart idea to us. Coda plans to display its system at the 2008 SAE World Congress in Detroit on April 14th through the 17th, so we'll see if it makes a splash there with auto industry engineers.
