Golf R 400 confirmed for production !

**AdamD** · 23-04-2014, 09:37 AM

Originally Posted by pologti18t

Is this official? NOt being reported as 100% elsewhere

It all hinges on an article Car and Driver logged on April 20 that has been reported on by other news sources

It's not yet official. Just based on a comment from the R&D chief to Car & Driver. Serious conversations have started with a lot less evidence in the past!

**gareth_oau** · 23-04-2014, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by DoggieHowser

The thing is that most of the S/RS models often come at the end of the model run. So the RS4 is on the B8's last legs the moment its out.

But with the R400, it's still pretty early in the cycle. They could of course make it a special edition but if they are really smart about it, they could come out with a mid-cycle facelift and introduce the new engine (maybe detuned slightly) for MY16 as an across the board change for the Rs. Pricing wise, it's a bit of a squeeze now, not just in Australia but also in Europe, with Mercedes putting downward pressure on all the other makes with their keenly priced A45s, so I am not sure if there is enough breathing space to price the R400 competitively.

I love what Mercs have done with the A45 pricing, it make huge competition for Audi/VW/BMW to step up and compete.

and if they don't they will lose a lot of loyalty to people who switch to the A45

**gareth_oau** · 23-04-2014, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by AdamD

Spot-on there Dutch. With respect to ADRs, the specific problem was that the RS3 utilised CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced polymer) front guards - something that is expressly prohibited by ADRs in Australia. So the factory would have had to produce unique aluminium guards just for the Australian market - something they weren't prepared to do for such small anticipated volumes.

Gaining ADR compliance for a limited model is not a difficult thing to do, but it does cost money - so obviously VWA will do the sums and work out whether there's a business case for it or not. They haven't even confirmed they'll make it in RHD yet...

This just demonstrates how ludicrous our ADRs are - just another form of tariff to make imports less competitive

**a239947** · 23-04-2014, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by gareth_oau

This just demonstrates how ludicrous our ADRs are - just another form of tariff to make imports less competitive

I dont think this rules exists anymore. 911 RS 4.0 has carbon front guards as does the Lamborghini Aventador and they both are sold in australia. Our ADRs were changed a few years ago to align closer to europe so that manufacturers didnt have to build special vehicles to comply with our laws. Thats the reason for the influx of euro manufacturers over the last few years.
Besides the hoods scoop on the bug eyed WRX STI never met any ADRs and they got it passed! It looked like they built an opera house on the bonnet!

Sent from my GT-I9100