V6 in the Mk8 R?

The problem for VW I don't think lies so much in engineering as in marketing. An R with RS3 power? Or even S4 power? And you have to add in that one of the selling points of the R is a very high level of equipment and fit/finish/quality for its price point, and you have a real dilemma. Either it costs so much it ends up in Audi land, or it cannibalizes Audi sales (unless they crap up the interior and de-option it to make it a "track rat" special, which doesn't seem likely). Where do you put a significantly more powerful (that today) Golf in their lineup?

Clickbait. Period. I'll eat my airedale if anything more than 4 cylinders ever appears in a GTI of Golf of any flavor again.

Al_in_Philly said:

It ought not be too difficult to turn an engine 90 degrees, provided it fits in the engine bay and can easily match up with the existing transmission case. The main issue is with oil scavenging from the pan, as the G forces on the oil are now going in different directions. A revised pan shape, windage baffles, and oil pick up tube location, can make a longitudinal designed engine work in a transverse configuration. Occasionally, some minor work in the heads, also for oil flow considerations, is also needed. My guess is that the biggest problem might be with making a revised oil pan work with the current chassis structure.

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All that is of course doable, albeit at some cost. However the biggest issue with turning the engine 90 degrees is external: overall packaging and component accessibility. Accessory drives that were once at the front are now sandwiched against the side. Exhausts and turbos now have to be accommodated both at the front and the rear of the engine compartment, while the intake tract inside the V now gets tall compared to an inline engine. (BMW has done some interesting work on reversing the conventional head layout, putting the exhaust within the V and intake on the outside of each head, but that still doesn't lend itself well to a transverse installation.)

That was the genius of the old VR6 engine. The single cylinder block and head were packaged like an inline engine, with exhaust on one side of the head and intake on the other. The unfortunate flip side of that was a compromised head design as far as both efficiency and performance go.

BTW, the narrow angle V layout was by no means original to the VR6. Lancia pioneered this with a narrow angle V4 in their Lambda from 1923, although they're better known for using this layout in the 1963 Fulvia, which was built for a decade and a half and in some volume.

KevinC said:

Clickbait. Period. I'll eat my airedale if anything more than 4 cylinders ever appears in a GTI of Golf of any flavor again.

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Bingo!

Neil

lol, no.

Personally I love FI motors and aren’t willing to give up them for some vroom vroom sounds.

Diggs24 said:

Everyone is moving to turbo 4s. This seems odd.....

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My thoughts exactly.
I'm highly skeptical, and don't see the point - esp. given the power they're getting out of these turbo fours.
These Golf's have quite a low hood too - I don't know if they could even fit a six in that snout.

I would never by an rs3 sedan.... but if they gave north america a crack at the 2.5 in a golf, i'd be salivating. Like others said for the cost why wouldn't you just bring home the audi hatch.

MeltedSolid said:

I very highly doubt the golf R will get a V6. I don't know where Car and driver got that info but it seems unreasonable. A more likely engine to see in the golf R would be their new inline 5 they've been producing for audi's. Now that would be cool.

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Yes!!!!! That's a win for sure.

RS3 drivetrain = Golf R25....but that cant be less than $50k especially if you get the brakes and whatever else with it.

Highly unlikely the mk8 Golf will get a 3 litre V6.

IMO it’s more likely the performance models will be 4 cylinder petrol turbo / electric hybrids.

I believe it's been reported that the eGolf will be axed and that they will create a new model for EV and hybrids. So I would highly doubt the next R would get a hybrid system.

Oh, I don't know. The trend is to "mild hybrid" systems, like the 48 volt bits showing up now to help manage braking energy and better to provide for the auto stop/start systems.

So while it won't be a Porsche 918, it could very well have some hybrid components built in.

They were planning 400hp vr6 to arteon that also could be used for R. Both are to my understanding with transverse engine. Id love stock 400hp that could be pushed easily above 500hp, just to give friends 500hp gt3 some agony on highway [emoji847]

KevinC said:

Clickbait. Period. I'll eat my airedale if anything more than 4 cylinders ever appears in a GTI of Golf of any flavor again.

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I don't see it either. In 5 years you'll be hard pressed to see 6's except in pony cars.

The Fed said:

I don't see it either. In 5 years you'll be hard pressed to see 6's except in pony cars.

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Yeah, while everything goes turbo 4 - from BMW's to their availability in Mustangs - we're supposed to believe these VW turbo 4's are going to go to 6's?
Doubtful.

Interesting read.