2003 Volkswagen Concept R

The design team, led by Murat Gunak (Volkswagen Brand Group) and Peter Schreyer (Volkswagen Brand), shows with the roadster concept R how a sports car packed with aesthetics and emotion could look in the foreseeable future with the internationally successful "VW" label.

A particularly avante garde element of the concept R is seen in the front end with its newly designed Volkswagen radiator grille and large V-shaped air cooling inlet below. The chrome badge, integrating the VW logo in the centre, is where air is drawn in for the V6 engine to "breath" and the new look of the eye-like headlights creates a face that can immediately be associated with the Volkswagen Brand tradition, even though a complete reinterpretation of the design has been possible. The designers were conscious in their efforts to instil in the front end of this sports car the agility and and vigilance of an animal about to jump.

Between the tail lights there is a very thin strip of diodes for the third brake light. The designers worked the VW logo into the space above this in the centre. Not until the roadster is seen up close is it possible to see the chrome concept-R lettering on the engine/soft top cover (mid-engine, fully retracting cover) as part of an outlet on the V6 engine.

The dynamic and emotional air of the concept R is underlined by two body domes behind the driver and front passenger in the style of a classic racing car. The VW logo in the steering wheel pulsates when stand-by mode is selected - No-one said that technology had to be cold and lifeless

The seats are mounted rigidly but feature innovative suspension; They adapt to the contours of the body, not the other way around - that is the essence of ergonomics. Position adjustment is through movement of controls: the seats are fixed.

Thanks to a sophisticated and newly developed carrier mechanism, the seats are self-sprung; The hardness of the springs can also be adjusted. The seating comfort is enhanced even further by active foam used in the seat structure, which is covered in deer leather. Developed for space travel and adapted for extremely good office furniture with a price tag to match, this foam is being used in a sports car for the first time. It adapts perfectly like a modulated counter-structure to the individual contours of each body and thereby contributes towards an unusually high level of comfort and provides good ergonomic properties.

Центральномоторный родстер-концепт, построенный на измененной платформе Golf V. Возможно, что выпуск прямого конкурента Opel Speedster, Z4 и Boxster начнется уже в 2005 г. От того, где на серийной машине будет располагаться двигатель, — впереди или в базе, или за спинками кресел — зависит, станет ли он еще и внутренним конкурентом Audi TT. Двигатель — известный V6 R32, мощность которого увеличена до 265 л. с. Трансмиссия — «полуавтоматическая» коробка DSG с двойным сцеплением, при переключениях поток мощности не прерывается. Это позволит легкому родстеру разгоняться до сотни за 5,2 с. Максимальная же скорость будет принудительно ограничена на отметке 250 км/ч.