We think that with the Golf R we have a unique selling position with the versatility of being a great track car and the daily drivability. I'm looking forward to the comparison tests. We made a big jump in a lot of performance metrics, as well as the ESC off.

Yes, that was one of the big steps when developing the Golf R. If you remember, the Mk5 it only had a DSG, then the Mk6 only had a manual. Then we pushed very hard to for the Golf R to have both. We wanted to offer both so you could have the fun to drive – that's important to our customers and we wanted to offer that.…

We show with our GRC involvement that the Beetle has the potential. So it's not out of the question.

The entire package was difficult, but you are correct, the cooling system was the biggest challenge. The R400 already has a larger front cooling area to get the necessary air flow. Also the fender flares draw hot air out.

In the regular Golf R is 292 hp – that's 146 hp per liter! It's also one of the strongest 4 cylinder engines in the world (in a regular production car). The R 400 shows the potential that is in that engine. That's 200 hp per liter and that's supercar territory. And that's with very good fuel economy.

The Golf R is a AWD.

That's probably one of the more extreme ideas. :) It's not out of the question. They have an Up! "wide" style in Germany and R has done some work to make it more sporty. But an Up! R model isn't our priority. But I'd like to drive one!

My first car was a Golf 1 convertible that I inherited from my mother. And I still own it! It's sitting in my garage in Germany. Every time I think about selling it I drive it and I just can't.

The very unique selling position of the Golf R is the utility. You can do your daily grocery drive with it and the next day go to the track and have one of the most potent performance hatchbacks ever available. This is not a decline. This is a very strong and growing segment.

We see the GTI mk7 as a very exciting step for the GTI and with comparison tests and awards the GTI continues to set the benchmark for the hot hatch set. The timelessness of the GTI design makes just as big of an impression as original.

First, we're bringing over the Golf R to establish the R brand. We see potential for R expanding, whether that's Jetta or Passat or SportWagen.

The R model is basically the pinnacle of every model line – the highest performance version. We're looking into expanding that, with the Golf R being the core identity of that brand and then selectively expanding that. The SportWagen R is a future outlook of what is possible. But an exclusive R model is something…

We share a lot of our know how and expertise in the development between VW and Audi, but also the VW motorsports division. There's some co-development, for example, with engines, but we make sure the character of the vehicles are differentiated between the brands – in terms of the design and driving character.

Yes, that is definitely something we're looking into. But not as a hybrid R model.