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Volkswagen hatches hotter GTI in Geneva

The all-new seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf hasn't even launched here in the United States, but over in Geneva, we're already getting our first glimpse at the hotter GTI hatchback. The fancy new Mk VII Golf is already off to a healthy start with positive reviews in Europe, and we have no doubt that this next GTI will work hard to regain its title as king of the hot hatches.
The big news for this generation of GTI is that for the first time ever, Volkswagen is actually offering two different power grades for the model, both relying on the 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four. Standard cars pack 220 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, but an optional performance pack ups the horsepower number to 230. Hitting 60 miles per hour takes 6.5 seconds (6.4 with the performance pack) and top speed is quoted at 153 mph (or 155 with the performance kit). Volkswagen will continue to offer the GTI with both six-speed manual and dual-clutch transmissions.
On the visual front, the sub-3,000-pound GTI adds the usual bit of hot hatch aggression over the standard Golf, and those changes carry over to the interior with a flat-bottomed wheel and, of course, plaid seats. She's certainly a looker, and while some of us do find the new Golf's design to be a bit staid and evolutionary, the enhancements for the GTI indeed tug on our enthusiast heart strings.

US-spec 2015 Volkswagen Golf and GTI to finally debut in New York

The seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf is hardly new to us. In fact, we've already driven it. And elsewhere in the world, the new Golf is already winning awards. Even so, we still have yet to see the US-spec version of the car, though that won't be the case much longer. As part of the New York Auto Show festivities later this month, Volkswagen will finally show off the 2015 Golf models destined for our shores.
Three different versions of the Golf will debut under the lights of New York City's Javits Center: the turbocharged TSI, oil-sipping TDI and hotter GTI. The first model in that list uses Volkswagen's new 1.8-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine, replacing the outgoing 2.5-liter naturally aspirated inline five-cylinder. The latter two models use familiar engines: the 2.0-liter TDI diesel and 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, respectively.
Even though the new Golf officially debuts later this month, it won't go on sale in the US until the first quarter of 2014. We'll be waiting patiently.

Bentley Bentayga bodies to be built in Bratislava

Volkswagen's plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, has come a long way. After getting its start in 1971 by subcontracting the production of Skoda-branded vehicles, the plant was purchased by VW in 1991, where it was quickly put to further good use as it began producing Volkswagen Passat models for export. More recently, Bratislava has become a bastion for SUVs, assembling the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne, in addition to the VW Touareg. Color us unsurprised, then, to learn that the Bentley Bentayga, which will be built atop the same large SUV platform as its cousins from Audi, Porsche and VW, will also be used for at least part of the production of Bentley's first SUV. Surely, though, one of the hallmarks of the Bentley brand is that its cars are handmade in England. Won't the Bentley-buying populace feel slighted by production in Slovakia? Not to worry. As is the case with the Porsche Cayenne, all that will be produced in Slovakia is the Bentayga's body. According to a report from Automotive News, bodies for the Bentayga will be shipped from Bratislava to Crewe, England, where they will be finished into fully operational vehicles. In order to accommodate the additional work, VW will reportedly invest 500 million euros into the plant in Slovakia and hire hundreds of workers.