Send This VW GTI to Indy -- Or Better Yet, My Home!

Given it is Indy Weekend, it seems a little wrong -- but only a little -- to tout a non-Indy car. But when you see this Volkswagen beauty, it is impossible to resist!

• GTI 650 one-off ditches rear seats for W-12 engine.

This is the VW Golf GTI W12-650, and I want one. If you wanted a faster GTI, you would probably think about getting it chipped or chopping it in for an R32.

But fortunately for us dreamers the VW works created it. The downside: the GTI W12 is a one-off creation, built to show at the Woerthersee VW/Audi modified car gathering in Austria.

Not surprisingly, the GTI W12-650 has a fair amount of power from its twin-turbocharged W12; 641hp, to be precise, or 650PS (hence the name). It also packs 553lb-ft of torque. VW reckons it will run from 0-62mph in 3.7sec, and head on to 202mph, which is pretty much on a par with a Porsche 911 Turbo.

• Performance numbers are similar to a Porsche 911 Turbo.
  

The engine is mounted longitudinally behind the front seats, and powers the rear axle through a DSG gearbox. The wheels are based on the GTI’s standard items, but at 19" they are larger and the tires much wider – 235mm up front and 295mm at the back.

The track is 160mm wider than standard, so there are vastly exaggerated wheelarches, giving the GTI W12 the look of a DTM car.

The bodywork is a bespoke steel and carbon-fiber affair, styled under VW design boss, Klaus Bischoff. “We strived to retain a classic GTI appearance,” said Bischoff. “The biggest challenge was to provide the mid-mounted engine with sufficient air without upsetting the silhouette to any great degree.”

That means that there are gaping vents in the side, and the rear side windows slope dramatically inwards, leaving the rear pillars as a kind of Ferrari 599-style flying buttress. The whole carbon-fiber roof acts as a spoiler.

This baby looks fantastic! Please, Mr. Winterkorn, can I have one? Pretty please!