Say Hello To The R400: The Hot VW Golf On Steroids

You're pretty well catered for if you want a hot VW Golf: there's the 217bhp GTI, and the 296bhp R. Neither fast enough? Don't worry, VW is hinting at an even quicker mid-sized hatch, with this: the production-based Golf R400 concept, which packs a massive 395bhp (400PS).

Unveiled at the Beijing motor show, the car comes only weeks after VW Group subsidiary Audi unveiled its 410bhp TT Quattro Sport concept. That machine uses the same EA888 engine as the R400, so the German car giant is clearly keen to extract big power from its 2.0-litre turbo four-pot. Backing up the gigantic bhp figure, meanwhile, is a healthy 332lb/ft of torque.

0-62mph takes just 3.9 seconds, a full second quicker than the standard R, while the top speed is an electronically limited 174mph. That means this uber Golf can easily obliterate Audi's RS3, and Merc's crazy fast - and crazy expensive - A45 AMG.

Underneath, there's the same Haldex system as the R sending power to all-four wheels via the proper way: a six-speed manual gearbox.

It sits lower and wider than other Golfs, and has 19-inch wheels filling each arch. The exterior is generally much less restrained than the production R, with beefy intakes in the front bumper, huge brake cooling ducts in the rear bumper, and a carbonfibre rear diffuser.

Will this scorching Golf become a showroom reality? We'll have to wait and see, but rumours suggest a limited production run is a real possibility. Yes please, VW.