Volkswagen will celebrate the world première of the Golf GTD at the Geneva International Motor Show from 5 to 15 March. Among the technical highlights is the most powerful and – thanks to twin dosing – cleanest turbo diesel injection (TDI) engine ever to be installed in a Golf. It harmonises the confident dynamism of the Golf GTD together with higher efficiency and lowest emissions. The charismatic design of the Golf GTD reflects a unique combination of dynamism and self-confidence.

The diesel top-of-the-range version, based on the new eighth generation of the Golf, will carry the long tradition of the GTD into the future. In 1982, Volkswagen presented the very first Golf GTD. At that time, Volkswagen brought new excitement into the compact class with its turbo diesel and other equally sporty features, like in the Golf GTI Mk1.

And almost four decades later, this same dynamic concept is still going strong: Once again, Volkswagen will introduce one of the most economical and at the same time sporty compact models to the market with its Golf GTD. A significant increase in performance is accompanied by lowest emissions: The Performance TDI’s efficiency has been significantly optimised and CO2 emissions have been cut even further, all while simultaneously improving responsiveness.

Thanks to a new twin dosing SCR with double AdBlue® injection, NOx emissions will be greatly reduced as compared to its predecessor. This makes the TDI in the new Golf GTD one of the cleanest combustion engines in the world. And by the way, the four-cylinder powerhouse is started by pressing a pulsing button in the completely digitalised cockpit – to the beat of a new era.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Having a ball in the snow with the T-Roc R – during the R Experience Ice in Sweden, drivers drift across snow and ice on frozen Lake Arvidsjaursjön. Their challenge: to pilot the powerful Volkswagen T-Roc R on glaze in the bitter cold of a region located just south of the Arctic Circle.

The program literally puts these drivers on black ice in Arvidsjaur, Sweden. It was all by design: the task of perfecting drifting and vehicle control on difficult terrain. Each year, Volkswagen R joins with Volkswagen Driving Experience and extends an invitation to visit the far north. Once there, you quickly realize in the vast expanses of snow stretching out before you that this is something much more than your normal type of safety training for drivers. The “stars on ice”: the T-Roc R together with its 300 HP (221 kW) and the Passat R-Line Edition, the two models that take on the course in the heart of Lapland.

In addition to the introductory and helpful words of the instructors, the spikes on the tires will be the drivers’ biggest helpers on the frozen lake. You would never be able to handle the icy surface without these types of tires.Speaking of vehicle control: The drivers slowly gain a feel for the vehicles during their first ventures onto the courses. As they complete curve after curve, their initial hesitation gradually fades, giving way to growing trust and confidence in their own driving skills. With the help of the Haldex clutch, the 4Motion drive system of the T-Roc R distributes the power of the performance crossover evenly to all four wheels. The vehicle’s power and the drivers’ increasing ability to handle the slick elements beneath them result in better and better drifts and lots and lots of fun behind the wheel.

With the help of GPS, plows carve a number of courses into the snow on Lake Arvidsjaursjön each year. Every section has its own special features, and the degree of difficulty increases from course to course. Slalom, braking practices, mastering of oversteering and understeering and handling courses await the drivers. Everything is designed to enable the participating drivers to pull off a perfect drift on ice. Safety, though, is always the top priority. Anyone who happens to slide past the wide run-off area usually ends up making a relatively “soft” landing in the snow. Afterward, a Driving Experience instructor will drive up in a Touareg and use a tow rope to pull the driver’s vehicle out of the snowbank.

“Our R Experience Ice is a real adventure in the far north,” says Peter Jost, Head of Sales and Marketing for Volkswagen R. “It is a challenge for all drivers that is both really instructive and a whole lot of fun. It takes some skill and control to drift on ice. But our instructors provide the drivers with excellent preparation before they take on the challenge.”

For experienced drivers on icy grounds, the R Experience Ice provides an even bigger challenge: the pro level. The Pro Experience is designed for racecar drivers who want to fine-tune their handling abilities. A range of courses and special stages bring the rally feeling to life on the ice. A race against the clock is added to the battle against the elements. One special highlight for the pros: a rally-style drive at night in which a course with pace notes that the drivers have written themselves is taken on at a range of speeds.

You will find more information about booking and prices on the website of the Volkswagen Driving Experience: https://www.volkswagen-driving-experience.de/de/trainings/winter-trainings.html

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Following more than one and a half years of intensive preparations, the “Brand Experience New Volkswagen” dealer congress is starting at the Autostadt. Up to March 18, 2020, a total of 17,500 dealers from more than 50 countries are to come to Wolfsburg, especially to learn about the new Golf 8, the all-electric ID. 3 and Volkswagen’s New Brand Design.

Jürgen Stackmann, Sales Board Member of the Volkswagen brand: “We are pleased to be able to offer this mega-event for our dealers in Wolfsburg. Where can you provide a better experience of the reorientation of the Volkswagen brand than in its home city of Wolfsburg? This event and our new models are team achievements of which we are very proud. Over the next few weeks, we want to transfer this enthusiasm to our dealers and sales team members so that they can impart it to our customers.”

Volkswagen has developed a new event concept; dealers will not meet for a large plenary session but will visit a number of workshops. In small groups, they will have an opportunity to interact, to ask questions and to engage in discussions amongst themselves. In groups of 50 to 100 people, about 400 participants per day will complete a total of 11 topic studios to try out all the innovations of the new models and to familiarize themselves with all the key aspects. In total, 200 vehicles will be used.

For example, the “ID. Experience Studio” is concerned with topics such as the everyday practicality of the ID.3, ranges, operating expenses and state subsidies. As with all the workshops, the main emphasis is on experience: the participants can test acceleration and battery charging for themselves.

Apart from the electric ID. vehicle family, the congress will concentrate on digital networking with We Connect and the area of infotainment. The dealers will be able to test the Innovision Cockpit, with its digital instruments and intuitive elements such as personalization and voice control. All the topic studios will be chaired by Volkswagen employees who will be available to provide dealers with expert information. The content will be translated into 22 languages.

At the “Technology & Future Studio”, dealers will receive information on topics including powertrains, color and wheel rim configuration possibilities, the IQ.Drive intelligent digital driver assistance technologies and the lighting concept ID. Light & Ambient Lighting.

On an exclusive tour of the plant, Volkswagen will give dealers an in-depth view of vehicle production. Under the heading of “Fascination Production”, the visitors will have a first-hand experience of the team performance involved in the production of each Golf.

The event also includes a test drive with the new Golf 8 which will allow the dealers to try out all the innovations on the road.

All the elements in the event focus consistently on the reorientation of the Volkswagen brand, including a sustainable catering concept based on regional and seasonal offerings.

Volkswagen has set up a showroom with the New Brand Design at the central event warehouse in Isenbüttel. The new showroom has been designed to be as modular, scalable and cost-effective as possible. Many existing elements can also be adapted. In the development of the new showroom, feedback from dealers, network planners and customers from a variety of markets was analyzed and integrated in the concept.

More than 130 employees from all Board of Management divisions were involved in planning the event, including team members from the departments Series Group, Product Marketing, Design, IT, Service Factory and the After-Sales Workshop. In addition, more than 40 external service providers are supporting the event.

This event will also pave the way for the launch of the new digital sales model “Future Sales” in Europe at the beginning of April. The objective is the digitalization of sales for a seamless customer experience. In close cooperation with dealers, vehicles sales and customer support are to become more individual, more efficient and more convenient.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Volkswagen models represent modern functionality and the brand’s typically easy orientation inside the vehicle. With the new Golf, operation is now even more intuitive. A visible and tangible example is the control for the 3-zone automatic air conditioner “Air Care Climatronic”. This newly designed air conditioning system has a Smart Climate menu that can be used to activate specific individual functions such as “Warm feet” or “Clear view” – not only at the press of a button, but also using voice control. The new model is therefore the first Golf to respond interactively to the wishes of the driver and passenger.

The temperature of the air conditioning system can be adjusted in the new Golf using a touchslider or voice input. The driver and passenger can access the menu control of the “Air Care Climatronic” with allergen filter and 3-zone control via the screen of the Infotainment system or the touch field below with direct access buttons. As an alternative to the classic controls, such as for the fan function or air recirculation mode (Classic Climate), the screen features the new Smart Climate menu. To access specific air conditioning settings in this menu, it is no longer necessary to spend time adjusting different parameters of the air conditioning system. You can now intuitively activate preconfigured scenarios with one touch or alternatively by using voice control.

Volkswagen has identified five frequently used scenarios and transferred them to the Smart Climate menu. The functions are “Clear view” (demist windows), “Warm feet” (warmer air to the footwell), “Warm hands” (warmer air via the vents of the dash panel), “Cool feet” (colder air into the footwell) and “Fresh air” (cool breeze flows through the vehicle interior). The clever thing here is that the Smart Climate functions are always only activated temporarily – they briefly enhance current well-being before reverting to the previously active settings of the automatic air conditioner.

It is also easier to change individual permanent settings of the “Air Care Climatronic” than ever before: As an alternative to classic operation in the air conditioning menu, this works using a touchslider or voice control. The new digital microphones in the Golf also recognise whether it is the driver or the passenger speaking. All you have to do is say “I am cold” or “I am warm” and the “Air Care Climatronic” will change the temperature on the driver side or passenger side for each command. It is also possible, for example, to say “Make it four degrees warmer” to change the temperature accordingly. Equally simply and effectively, statements such as “There’s a draught” or “It’s stuffy” can be used to adjust the settings of the automatic air conditioner.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com