Volkswagen has impressed driving enthusiasts over the years with its Golf R, a hopped-up and high-price version of the Golf compact hatchback.
And VW plans a U.S.-market Golf R in about December that'll have a respectable 290 horsepower. It'll be based on the latest-generation Golf in production at VW's Mexico factory.
But why stop there? At the Beijing auto show in China, VW's exhibiting a 400-hp Golf R -- well, 394 hp if you do the math and convert from the kilowatts that VW specifies, but it's being referred to as the "400-hp Golf."
Uses 4Motion all-wheel drive of course, or all that power would turn into tire smoke.
The fun numbers: 174 mph, faster if it weren't electronically limited, and that 394 hp is about 200-hp per liter of engine displacement, which is race-car output.
There's a slim chance it'll see production, VW says.