最近谍照记者在德国纽伯格林赛道拍到了一段视频，显示大众正在测试一辆高尔夫R420原型车。大众一年多以来一直都没有进行过高性能车型的测试，为什么现在决定进行测试呢？希望这是大众在新一代车型到来之前，推出几款车型以示对现行版的作别。高尔夫R420或许就是高尔夫R400概念车的道路版车型。该车搭载一台2.5升直列五缸引擎，搭载该引擎的奥迪RS3功率309千瓦/414马力或者420公制马力，搭配全轮驱动。从这段视频里的换挡速度看，该车似乎是配备了双离合器变速箱。视频上这辆车所挂的车牌号码与记者在去年9月拍到的测试车一样，这表明R420项目一直在推进。如果大众计划将该车投放市场，就应该加速推进计划。下一代高尔夫正在开发，将于明年6月投产，四季度上市。据传下一代高尔夫R搭载2.0升四缸涡轮增压引擎和轻混系统，功率达到298千瓦/400马力，最快2020年上市。
Possible VW Golf R420 Spied In Action Testing 5-Cylinder Engine
An intriguing video from the Nürburgring shows Volkswagen pulling an old prototype for the Golf R420 out of the garage for some laps around the Nordschleife. We haven't seen VW testing the high-performance model for over a year, so why did the company decide to bring it out again? Our hope is that this could suggest that the German brand is considering building a few of them as a farewell to the current generation Golf before the new one arrives.
The R420 was supposed to be the road-going interpretation of the Golf R400 concept. A version of the 2.5-liter inline-five cylinder engine from models like the Audi RS3 would have produced 414 horsepower (309 kilowatts or 420 metric horsepower as the model name references). An all-wheel-drive system would have made the most of channeling this power to the road. Given the speed of the shifts in this video, it seems a dual-clutch gearbox would be available.
The car in this video has the same license plate number as a test mule from spy shots in September 2017. Continuing to evaluate these prototypes hints that the R420 project might not be dead. If VW has engineers continuing to run them around the 'Ring, then there appears still to be some passion behind the project among folks at the automaker.
VW would need to hurry if it plans on putting the R420 on sale, though. The next-gen Golf is already under development and production begins in June 2019 with sales starting in the fourth quarter of that year. If it's any consolation, rumors suggest that the next Golf R would pack 400 hp (298 kW) possibly from a mild hybrid 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. The hot hatch could arrive as soon as 2020.