Despite the heavy competition from the new Ford Fiesta that increased its sales in Europe by a hefty 34.2 percent to 243,340 units in the first half of 2009, VW's Golf continues to dominate the sales charts in the Old Continent with sales up 12.7 percent to 254,023 units in the same period, according to data released by Jato Dynamics. The rest of the top five list was rounded out by the Peugeot 207 with 193,778 units (-20,6 percent), the Opel - Vauxhall Corsa with 181,751 units (-14.1 percent) and the Renault Clio with 144,512 units (-28.0 percent).
Notably, the first ten places were occupied exclusively by European automakers - okay Opel / Vauxhall (at least for the time being) and Ford are controlled by their American parent companies.
Volkswagen was also Europe's top-selling car brand in the first half of the year with 842,787 vehicles sold, up 0.7 percent over the same period in 2008. Ford finished in second place with 666,548 units, down 3.6 percent over last year, followed by GM's Opel - Vauxhall division with 557,739 units (-16.8 percent), Fiat with 542,115 units (-1.4 percent) and Renault with 520,763 units (-18.4 percent).
Data: Jato Dynamics
Volkswagen has announced that it will compete at this year's 24-hour endurance race at the Nürburgring with an all-new challenger, the freshly developed Golf24. The dramatic racing version of the Golf borrows the 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine from sister company Audi's TT RS and RS3 models, modified to deliver 440-ponies and a maximum torque of 540Nm or 398 lb-ft. Power is transmitted to the permanent four-wheel drive by a sequential six-speed gearbox with paddle shift operation.
The last time Volkswagen fielded a factory Golf for the famous Nürburgring endurance race was in 2007, at which time, the 300HP, front-wheel drive Golf that delivered about 300 hp finished in eighth place overall. For the past three years, the Germans have been competing in the race with the Scirocco GT24.
"With the new Golf24 we are continuing our successful commitment at the Nürburgring 24-hour race," said VW Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "The event enjoys huge popularity, is one of the true classics in motorsport and, due to its extreme distance and unique race track, also represents a very big technical challenge, With our spectacular Golf we want to provide an additional highlight in front of a large audience – right in time for the 35th anniversary of the GTI this year."
The new Golf24 has already reeled off its first circuit miles in Portugal and Italy, but VW will continue the testing and development programme until the Nürburgring racing event that takes place from June 23 to 26.
Volkswagen sport car
Get ready for four new Golf concepts from Volkswagen, all based on the recently hotted-up Golf R. With these four Golfs, Volkswagen R GmbH hopes to explore the themes of "especially high-end" and "especially sporty".
The more luxurious Golfs feature unique paint (Oryx White and Carbon Steel Grey), 19-inch Talladegas, aluminum trim, and Nappa leather interiors crafted by Volkswagen R Exclusive. The white one wears St. Tropez over black leather, while the dark gray one dons Almandine Red over black.
The two sporty Golfs come in Space Grey and Aplomb Blue and come with carbon fiber trim and mirror caps, racing buckets, and mo' Nappa. Of the sporty interpretations, the light gray one gets Pure Grey over Light Anthracite leather with orange piping, piano black seat backs, polished Talldega wheels, and orange brake calipers.
The blue one rolls on Brilliant Silver 19-inch Glendales; its buckets are wrapped in blue and black leather and have carbon fiber shells, while the steering wheel gets a small helping of carbon leather.
It's good to see Volkswagen's R GmbH doing its part to keep the customer individualization train running. Next stop: Jetta?
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Sometimes vehicle owners don't feel like dealing with the hassles and increased costs of mechanical upgrades on their cars preferring to focus their attention on the styling aspect of tuning. If you happen to agree with the above and own a sixth-generation VW Golf, then you may want to take a look at the latest offerings from RDX Racedesign.
Volkswagen sport car
