2020 Volkswagen Golf Mk. 8 Revealed, Two Plug-In Hybrids Available But No EV

The reveal of the Golf Mk. 8 is a special event for Volkswagen, and thus, none other than the designer of the original was invited on the stage to talk about the heritage of the compact car. Little did Giorgetto Giugiaro know back in the 1970s, but the Golf went on to sell more than 35 million examples of the breed over the course of seven generations.

From the offset, the exterior design is more evolutionary rather than revolutionary as the Mk. 4 was to the third generation. The front fascia’s styling is probably the most puzzling of the entire vehicle, described as “droopy” by many internauts and motoring journalists alike.

Imagine those headlamps with halogen lighting technology and the most basic bumper available. Without a shadow of a doubt, the designers were told to make the Golf as fancy as possible without regard to the low-specification trim levels favored by most customers out there.

A full-width bar of light-emitting diodes is reserved for higher trim levels, a styling artifice that feels like it’s too much for a vehicle as popular as the Golf. The dashboard and cabin also feel upmarket, and the Golf is more technologized than ever before, always connected to the Internet too. Space is of the essence here, and even though the MQB vehicle architecture hasn’t been modified too much for the eighth generation, the packaging is slightly better compared to the Golf Mk. 7.

A digital instrument cluster and touchscreen display dominate the cockpit, and the gear lever for the dual-clutch transmission is beautiful in its simplicity as well. In terms of suck-squeeze-bang-blow, the highlights are two plug-in hybrids with 150 and 180 kW in total, 48-volt mild hybrids called eTSI, and the 12-volt EA288 Evo turbo diesel that cranks out up to 150 kW. At first, TDI options will be offered with 85- or 110-kW ratings, respectively. The e-Golf has been discontinued to make room for the ID.3 compact e-hatchback.

The world premiere for the Mk. 8 didn’t reveal a single detail about the GTI and R, two variations that elevate the otherwise dull Golf into an enthusiast’s delight. The level of electrification seen on lesser models is an indicator that both will benefit from eco-friendly technologies, biased towards acceleration and speed rather than saving high-octane gasoline.

European customers will get their Golfs first in the earliest part of 2020 for the 2020 model year, and as expected, the 1.0 TSI will be the entry-level choice in this part of the world. The three-door hatchback has been discontinued, and not long now, the Golf Variant station wagon will be introduced for family-oriented customers along with the Golf Alltrack.

All the details available for the time being can be found in the press release below, and instead of an ending note, here’s a question for you. Would you consider the all-new Golf over another compact hatchback? If so, what’s the reason that made you choose Volkswagen over sister brands SEAT and Skoda as well as outsiders such as Hyundai, Kia, and Ford?

Rolls-Royce Cullinan "DUB Edition" Is Slammed on Carbon Aero

There's a huge disconnect between what the Rolls-Royce Cullinan should be and what it actually represents. The car is a super-expensive 4x4 built with the attention to detail and time that only kings or heads of state deserve to enjoy.

However, much like classic Ghosts that got pink paint, the Cullinan is the playtoy of "young money," musicians or people in connecting industries like diamonds, shoes or producers. So what you're left with is a symbol of wealth for those who want a motorized symbol of their wealth.

It feels like Forgiato is rolling out one of these on custom super-sized wheels every other week. But so far, nobody has made a truly unique Cullinan. "Oh, but nobody tunes a Rolls-Royce," we hear you say. Wrong, there's an entire community in japan dedicated to lowering them, and the Wraith and Dawn were incredibly popular with body kit makers. Just check this thing out, for example.

While we wait for Wald International to go to town on the uber-SUV, let's check out this rendering by Karan Adivi, aka Baeone. His artistic reinterpretation of the vehicle is called the "DUB Edition" and tries to recreate the vibe of the 2005 game Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix, which was sponsored by the legendary magazine and made by the same people as GTA.

Fender flares are a common theme. The ones added to the Rolls have just a bit more muscle, nothing like the crazy Rocket Bunny Supra kits that are trending right now. And while you'd normally want a step to climb into the Cullinan, this one has carbon fiber ground effects because it's so low to the ground, which kind of feels ironic. The wheels are another talking point, since they're obviously a custom set but mirror the stock RR design as well.

Manual Gearbox Lamborghini Huracan (Twin-Turbo LS) First Test Drive Is Hilarious

It was August 22 when we broke the news on the world's first manual swap Lamborghini Huracan. The stick shift V10 build, which is set to make its debut at SEMA on November 5, is now all over the Internet, but the crew behind it has just released the first driving video of the machine.

B Is For Build - this is the name of the label that has been working on this Raging Bull for the past four months. Before we dive deeper into this tale, you should know the aficionados didn't gut a perfect Huracan. Instead, the machine used to belong to the Fastline Racing Academy, a Polish motorsport crew who also offers racing courses (the branding used to still be around until recently). And it looks like the Italian exotic had been runined by fire, so it was also possibly involved in a crash. Regardless, the machine apparently came to the said crew sans V10 and dual-clutch transmission.

 The middle section of the supercar is now occupied by a 430ci LS supplied by Texas Speed, with the V8 having received a pair of turbos that will probably stick out through the engine cover, in a fair warning to anybody wishing to race the thing - you can expect the muscle number to climb up to 1,500 horsepower.

 And the new tranny comes from the first-gen Audi R8 As the die-hard car lovers among you have already noticed, that extra-wide front section comes from the Huracan Super Trofeo racecar - if you're willing to get a few clues on the final look of the Franken-Lambo, perpahs the rendering below, which comes from Khyzyl Saleem (one of his renders is even coming to SEMA as a build) will do the trick. Now, you'd better not be in a hurry for this clip, since it's not too often that you get to browse the details of such a fabrication adventure. However, if you do happen to be in a rush, you can skip to the 20:35 point of the video for the car's madien "voyage".

 Spoiler alert: here's how things went for the first drive: no wastegates? No problem! In fact, the crew removed the charge pipes, so that V8 didn't get a boost overload. Oh, and the power steering and the brake booster were also out of order. Sure, people do this sort of crazy drives all the time, it's just that they normally use Miatas instead of Lamborghinis