29 Sep 05
"A nice car. But it looks a bit too aftermarket, don't you think?"
The car in question is Volkswagen's R32, the flagship V6-powered, all-wheel-drive Golf launched in 2001. The person asking the questions is Rudiger Folten, the German-born designer responsible for the look of every hot Golf since the original Mk1 GTI of 1976.
The original R32, explains Rudiger, caught everyone by surprise. Spurred on by the realisation that its beloved GTI had become a joke in enthusiast circles, the more focused R32 was rushed through to production, barely pausing to have some 18-inch OZ alloys, painted brake calipers and twin exhaust pipes added. The result, as the VW design veteran admits, could have leapt straight off the pages of Max Power magazine - albeit the reader's rides section rather than the centre spread.
For many of us, though, that was the whole point. Disillusioned boy racers lapped it up its motorsport-derived wheels, dinner-plate brake discs and figure-hugging Recaro bucket seats, buying enough cars to triple VW's projected sales figures.
The new R32, insists Rudiger, is a more grown-up, sophisticated machine. An integrated chrome grille designed to give a more classy appearance has replaced the aggressive black honeycomb grille of the GTI. Even the standard 18-inch wheels - apparently styled to imitate the previous car's OZ multispokes - don't have the same visual impact as the GTI's. True, twin central-exit exhaust pipes, smoked rear lenses and colour coding on all but the lower valance project an air of potency from the rear, but the R32's styling still projects a slightly mixed message.
