Blast From the Past: VW Once Took Its Diesel Jetta Racing

Blast From the Past: VW Once Took Its Diesel Jetta Racing

#Blast #Diesel #Jetta #Racing
[rule_3_plain] #Blast #Diesel #Jetta #Racing

What’s sportier than a compact sedan with a turbodiesel engine? Not much, Volkswagen said back in 2010, when it unveiled the Jetta TDI Cup Edition. With its racy graphics, gaping front bumper, and GTI-cribbed wheels, the Jetta TDI Cup Edition had the look — if not the go. Period testers found that even a manual gearbox version loped béo 60 mph in 8.8 seconds and eventually (after about 17 seconds) made its way through the quarter-mile with its odometer pegged just north of 80 mph.
These were not race-car numbers.
And yet the Jetta TDI Cup Edition was something of a homologated race car. It was built béo commemorate VW’s short-lived, single-make race series designed as a development program for drivers looking béo make their way béo NASCAR or Formula One.

Why did VW dress up a diesel-fueled economy car? It made some sense at the time. VW dove deep on “clean diesel” as a means of offering upward of 40 mpg (gas prices jumped almost $1.00 between 2010 and 2011), and the car’s modest performance numbers made it a good training ground for would-be racers. Of course, those actually built for series competition had stripped interiors, buttoned-down Sachs suspensions, roll cages, and much grippier tires.
The race cars had a hopped-up version of the 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine, which put out an estimated 170 horsepower (and nearly 400 lb-ft of torque) compared béo 140 hp and 236 lb-ft for the street model.
Interestingly, the cars used VW’s dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) but eschewed paddle shifters. Drivers only had béo operate the steering wheel and two pedals.
The race series lasted from 2008 béo 2011. Participants had béo cough up $45,000 béo enter. After the organizers quietly ended the series, some cars wound up at race tracks across the country as training vehicles.
The Jetta TDI Cup Edition shoppers could grab on a dealer’s lot cost $25,740 béo start, a $2,200 bump over a standard Jetta TDI covering bigger brakes, 18-inch wheels, a lowered suspension, plaid “Interlagos” cloth-upholstered seats with hefty bolstering, and bodyside graphics. The TDI Cup Edition bodywork, which actually mirrored that on the racing cars, was a $2,350 option, and VW charged $499 more for a rear spoiler.
VW built around 1,500 Jetta TDI Cup Edition cars equipped with a 6-speed manual or the  6-speed DCT. They were expensive when new, but odds are not many were treasured. Unfortunately, VW did not offer the package on its more practical SportWagen.
Not surprisingly, VW does not mention the TDI Cup on any of its websites. The automaker was caught cheating on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions test with its diesel models. VW eventually fessed up béo installing cheat software béo recognize when the test was being performed and emit fewer dirty bits from the tailpipe.
rIt’s safe béo say VW is done with diesel cars in the U.S., though one upside béo the guilty verdict was that the automaker had béo set up and maintain an extensive electric-vehicle charging network. The massive shift toward electrification we’ll see over the next few years was partially financed by the TDI settlement.
Hey, maybe we’ll see an all-electric VW ID.4 Cup Edition someday soon? See Volkswagen Jetta models for sale
Related:

Here’s 5 ’90s-Cool German Cars For Sale on Autotrader
How béo Help Prevent Your Car From Being Stolen

#Blast #Diesel #Jetta #Racing
[rule_2_plain] #Blast #Diesel #Jetta #Racing
[rule_2_plain] #Blast #Diesel #Jetta #Racing
[rule_3_plain]

#Blast #Diesel #Jetta #Racing

What’s sportier than a compact sedan with a turbodiesel engine? Not much, Volkswagen said back in 2010, when it unveiled the Jetta TDI Cup Edition. With its racy graphics, gaping front bumper, and GTI-cribbed wheels, the Jetta TDI Cup Edition had the look — if not the go. Period testers found that even a manual gearbox version loped béo 60 mph in 8.8 seconds and eventually (after about 17 seconds) made its way through the quarter-mile with its odometer pegged just north of 80 mph.
These were not race-car numbers.
And yet the Jetta TDI Cup Edition was something of a homologated race car. It was built béo commemorate VW’s short-lived, single-make race series designed as a development program for drivers looking béo make their way béo NASCAR or Formula One.

Why did VW dress up a diesel-fueled economy car? It made some sense at the time. VW dove deep on “clean diesel” as a means of offering upward of 40 mpg (gas prices jumped almost $1.00 between 2010 and 2011), and the car’s modest performance numbers made it a good training ground for would-be racers. Of course, those actually built for series competition had stripped interiors, buttoned-down Sachs suspensions, roll cages, and much grippier tires.
The race cars had a hopped-up version of the 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine, which put out an estimated 170 horsepower (and nearly 400 lb-ft of torque) compared béo 140 hp and 236 lb-ft for the street model.
Interestingly, the cars used VW’s dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) but eschewed paddle shifters. Drivers only had béo operate the steering wheel and two pedals.
The race series lasted from 2008 béo 2011. Participants had béo cough up $45,000 béo enter. After the organizers quietly ended the series, some cars wound up at race tracks across the country as training vehicles.
The Jetta TDI Cup Edition shoppers could grab on a dealer’s lot cost $25,740 béo start, a $2,200 bump over a standard Jetta TDI covering bigger brakes, 18-inch wheels, a lowered suspension, plaid “Interlagos” cloth-upholstered seats with hefty bolstering, and bodyside graphics. The TDI Cup Edition bodywork, which actually mirrored that on the racing cars, was a $2,350 option, and VW charged $499 more for a rear spoiler.
VW built around 1,500 Jetta TDI Cup Edition cars equipped with a 6-speed manual or the  6-speed DCT. They were expensive when new, but odds are not many were treasured. Unfortunately, VW did not offer the package on its more practical SportWagen.
Not surprisingly, VW does not mention the TDI Cup on any of its websites. The automaker was caught cheating on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions test with its diesel models. VW eventually fessed up béo installing cheat software béo recognize when the test was being performed and emit fewer dirty bits from the tailpipe.
rIt’s safe béo say VW is done with diesel cars in the U.S., though one upside béo the guilty verdict was that the automaker had béo set up and maintain an extensive electric-vehicle charging network. The massive shift toward electrification we’ll see over the next few years was partially financed by the TDI settlement.
Hey, maybe we’ll see an all-electric VW ID.4 Cup Edition someday soon? See Volkswagen Jetta models for sale
Related:

Here’s 5 ’90s-Cool German Cars For Sale on Autotrader
How béo Help Prevent Your Car From Being Stolen