Meet Andrea and her VW Golf GTI V Club Sport Prepped by BBM Motorsport [w/Video]

When it comes to tuners and photo shoots with pretty ladies, 99.9 percent of the times, the girls are professional models who have nothing to do with the cars that they are posing together.

Nevertheless, there's always that one exception to the rule, which brings us to German aftermarket and racing tuner BBM Motorsport and Andrea Friedrich.

Apart from being a qualified real estate agent [sic] and having won the Miss Yamaha 2012 and Monster Energy Girl titles, the 23-year-old woman has also obtained an "A" racing license and will participate at events such as the Nürburgring-based VLN and GLP series.

Read more »

2013 VW Golf GTI Study Officially Revealed in Paris, European Sales Begin Next Summer

Who are we kidding; it may be billed as a concept, but even VW doesn’t make much effort into hiding the fact that the "design study" that made its debut alongside the rest of the seventh-generation Golf models at the 2012 Paris Auto Show is actually the production version of the Mk7 Golf GTI .

The German automaker even released a launch date: the new Golf GTI in both three- and five-door body styles will go on sale in mainland Europe in early 2013 and in the UK next summer (no word yet on when it will arrive in North America).

The new GTI stands out from lesser versions of the Golf thanks to its honeycomb grille (first introduced in the Mk5) with double red-stipe accents, the smoked LED rear lights and license plate illumination, the red brake calipers behind the five-spoke alloy wheels and the 80 mm diameter tailpipes with a chrome finish.

Read more »

2014 Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7 Design Study Breaks Cover Early

The first batch of photos of the new Volkswagen Golf GTI Concept were unloaded on the internet today, less than 24 hours ahead of the car's reveal at the 2012 edition of the Paris Motor Show.

Much like the previous model that was displayed in concept form at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, the new Golf GTI is also going to be shown as a near-production study. What this means is that that the car's looks and mechanicals will remain virtually unchanged when it goes on sale next year starting with Europe in spring.

Volkswagen's new hot hatch incorporates all the traditional design cues of the series like the honeycomb upper and lower front grilles with red accents, which now extend to the angular headlamps, five spoke alloy wheels wrapped in beefy tires, and two large exhaust pipes split far.

The darkened tail lamps, rear diffuser in black, a discreet roof spoiler, the LED headlamps and the new black trim on the front bumper round out the visual changes on the outside.

Inside, you will find classic tartan upholstery covering the body-hugging sport seats along with black piano trim décor, and red stitching applied on the flat-bottom sports steering wheel and the transmission lever.

Read more »

Volkswagen Abandons Appeal Against Suzuki and the Use of the GTi Moniker

The Volkswagen Group has put to rest an appeal of a court ruling in a brand infringement case against Suzuki regarding its use of the GTi nameplate on the sportiest version of the Swift hatchback – not because it wanted to, but evidently, because it had no chance of winning the case.

The dispute began back in 2004 when the German automaker challenged an application granted to Suzuki to use the GTi moniker and took the Japanese brand to court.

Read more »