Volkswagen reveals hybrid 300kW AWD Golf GTi concept

THE Worthersee Treffen car event is one of the biggest gatherings of the year for VW fans around the world, with owners travelling from across Europe to shores of Lake Worthersee in Austria in their own modified Volkswagens.

This year the carmaker joined in on the action, building a 300kW hybrid all-wheel drive Golf GTI, with the help of a team of young apprentices – the oldest of which is just 28.

Dubbed the Golf GTI First Decade, the concept was built in honour of the Worthersee event’s 10th anniversary.

Power comes from a combination of a conventional petrol engine for the front wheels, and a 12kW 48-volt electric motor driving the rear wheels.

Drive modes can be selected on a tablet, or in the car’s infotainment system.

Worthersee isn’t just a regular car show like New York or Geneva. This is a custom car event, and as such the GTi First Decade comes with some outlandish additions.

These include an 11-speaker, 1690-watt sound system, striking exterior paint scheme and custom rims.

A total of 13 apprentices built the car (five women and eight men) from six vocations within the German manufacturer, and its seat-building subsidiary Sitech.

The team put the car together in just nine months.

“During the creation of their dream GTI, our apprentices learn about the complexity and future challenges of automobile production. They gain further experience in the use of digital technologies, the application of system technology and electro-mobility,” said Peter Christ, Head of Automotive Technology Training in Wolfsburg.

Want to see the car in the flesh? Well, you might have to buy a quick ticket to Europe.