Volkswagen reveals sketches of 496bhp GTI Roadster concept

Volkswagen has released official sketches indicating that the three-dimensional Gran Turismo video game car will be brought to life in concept form to pay homage to a long history of GTI models.

The radical open-top concept, christened the GTI Roadster, was conceived in collaboration with Volkswagen and Sony to be a part of the Gran Turismo computer game. The new GTI will be revealed at the Wörthersee fan meet in Austria on May 29.

The GTI Roadster is created at Volkswagen’s main design studio in Wolfsburg, Germany. The carmaker is planning to combine various styling themes from its future production models. Cues for the GTI Roadster maybe taken from the upcoming track version of the seventh generation Golf.

The new concept gets an extreme look, with distinctive wedged-shaped silhouette and prominent ducting to cool the front mounted engine, a shallow wrap-around windscreen, sizeable wheelarches and a giant rear wing.

The concept will be powered by VW’s new twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre direct-injection VR6 petrol engine. The engine is currently under development by VW's petrol engine boss, Fritz Eichler, at its R&D centre in Braunschweig, Germany.

With a claimed 496bhp and 68kgm of torque, the narrow-angle VR6 engine drives all four wheels through a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox. The 20-inch wheels are shod with 235/35 front and 275/30 rear tyres and conceived to house giant 380mm front and 356mm rear carbon-ceramic disc brakes.

VW has played down suggestions that the GTI Roadster concept previews a new two-seat production model, calling it a "mobile canvas of design and engineering ideas inspired by enthusiasts in the virtual world".