Volkswagen has yet to launch its Golf-based T-Roc SUV but has already admitted that a high-performance variant is a possibility.
According to VW’s head of development Frank Welsch, the small SUV that shares its underpinnings with the Audi Q2 and Seat Ateca could receive an R-badged version.
“Yes, of course I could imagine more powerful engines and it has been prepared for the eventuality. I wouldn’t call it a GTI — an SUV isn’t a fitting car for that badge, perhaps — but I could imagine it as an R,” he told Autocar.
“Our first job is to launch the standard car and see the reaction to it. If demand is there for a more powerful car, we can likely satisfy it. There is a great deal of potential in the car that we can unlock if customers want it.”
As the T-Roc uses the same platform as the Golf and therefore the Golf R, outfitting the SUV with the R’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine shouldn’t prove too difficult. As it stands, this engine delivers 310 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque but those numbers could swell to offset the increased weight of the T-Roc.
A couple of days ago, spy shots emerged showing the standard T-Roc undisguised for the very first time. The “baby Tiguan” shares very few styling cues from the original T-Roc concept but certainly has the potential to look quite mean in R-guise when bathed in aggressive body parts and add-ons.
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