Following the debut of two Volkswagen concept vehicles yesterday, the Wolfsburg-based automaker has another show car making its debut at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas. The Jetta GLI Performance pays homage to the Jetta’s touring car history as a motorsport-inspired version of the sporty sedan. It comes with a number of visual and hardware upgrades, turning it into a much more powerful machine than the stock Jetta GLI.
Starting with the exterior, the 2022 Jetta GLI Autobahn-based concept now features 0.8-inch wider front and rear fenders, giving the small sedan a more muscular look. This matches well with the larger side skirts and larger air intakes in the modified front bumper. The body is finished in matte black color with a custom hexagonal themed vinyl wrap. Completing the design changes are a set of 20-inch rotiform monoblock wheels with custom covers.
18 Pictures
What happens under the hood is certainly more interesting, though. There, the stock 2.0-liter engine gets a new performance package from the racing line, which includes a carbon fiber cold air intake, a new intercooler, an oil management kit with a new oil cooler, and other hardware upgrades. The result is a peak output of 350 horsepower (261 kW) and 372 pound-feet (504 Newton meters) of torque, up from 228 hp (170 kW) and 258 lb-ft (350 Nm) of torque from the factory.
Power is routed to the front wheels via the vehicle’s stock six-speed manual gearbox mated to an upgraded performance clutch package. Acceleration figures aren’t available at the moment, but we expect the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time to be around the five-second mark.
Stopping power for the Jetta GLI Concept is provided by a new six-piston forged caliper brake kit with carbon ceramic discs. An upgraded coil-over suspension kit with lowering springs and fully adjustable solid top mounts provides what Volkswagen describes as “a track-worthy suspension that’s at home on the road.”
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Will it go into production? Not in this form. However, Rotiform will create wheel graphics of the concept. Available for download here. So you can keep them in your Jetta GLI.
