VW Golf R 400 could get more than 400PS - which makes a bit of a nonsense of its name

It seems that the Volkswagen Golf R 400 – VW’s most powerful Golf – is not just going in to production but could come with more than 400 PS.

The VW Golf R 400 (pictured) may not actually be an R 400

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The Beijing Motor Show last month saw the debut of the VW Golf R 400, an extreme take on the VW Golf R with a full 400 PS (395bhp) at its disposal.

When Volkswagen revealed the R 400 as a concept we did note that it looked more production-ready than concept, and it took VW less than a week to confirm that the Golf R 400 was indeed heading for production.

Now, just to muddy the waters a bit (or raise expectations), VW’s R&D chief Heinz-Jakob Neusser has said that when the Golf R 400 does arrive it could well be with more than 400PS.

That little titbit is revealed by Car and Driver, but what lends it extra credibility is that the quote wasn’t an off the cuff remark by Neusser in an unguarded moment, but was said at the Vienna engine symposium in front of Ferdinand Piech and Martin Winterkorn – and you don’t get bigger VW fish than that.

So do we have to look for a new moniker for the Golf R 400? Do we need to raise our expectations about its performance – 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds and 174mph?

It seems likely.