R 400 exterior

Side profile. Volkswagen Design made wide-ranging design changes to the Golf R 400. For one, the body was widened by 20 mm on each side to accommodate the 19-inch wheels that are further outboard due to their larger wheel offset. In front, the designers developed an entirely new wing, which – as a modern interpretation of the legendary Rallye Golf G60 (from 1988) – are significantly flared. Similarly, the rear side panels over the wheel housings of the Golf R 400 were also flared. The wheel arches are painted in body colour as a uniform part of the new wings and side panels. In addition, the bottoms of the sides are characterised by a wrap-around splitter made of visual carbon that is a very flat aerodynamic element derived from motorsport. Perfection in the details: the fibres of the visual carbon parts in the exterior area that just have a matt coating are aligned in the driving direction, and as arrow-shaped elements they emphasise the dynamism of the R 400. Above the splitter, designers also adapted the side sills to the new contours, creating a uniform transition to the newly designed wheel arches.

Front end. Designers have redesigned the front end of the Golf R 400 as well. Beneath the high-gloss black radiator grille with its "R badge", on a background in "Lemon Yellow", the Golf R 400 also features a line in "Lemon Yellow". Similar to the line of the Golf R (chrome line), Golf GTI (red line) and the new Golf GTE (blue line), it forms the termination of the grille towards the rear and continues into the headlights on the left and right. Beneath this line, there is a type of slot that serves as an air inlet on the Golf R 400 to help cover the car's elevated cooling requirements. The bumper was also completely redesigned. The central air inlets have a surround that is a wing-like element made of carbon effect, which visually appear to hover in the bumper. The lines of this aerodynamic element run horizontally up to the height of the bi-xenon headlights, then they bend in a V-shape towards the rear, and finally describe the form of a C (left) and a reversed C (right). Self-contained wing elements in high-gloss black also hover in the lower air inlets. Between the aerodynamic element of visual carbon and the high-gloss black wings (as well as within these black elements) there is a protective screen whose honeycomb structure – like so many details of the Golf R 400 – is reminiscent of motorsport vehicles. Since the wing element protrudes somewhat further forward, this gives it a progressive three-dimensional appearance. As in the side profile, there is also a motorsport-derived splitter in carbon effect at the front.

Rear section. At the rear, the wrap-around motorsport splitters transition into a diffuser, which – like the front wing element – protrudes slightly out from the body. Integrated here are the two central exhaust tailpipes. The reason: in contrast to the Golf R with its four tailpipes (two each, left and right), the Golf R 400 follows the design of the Golf R32 – the original R-series model presented in 2002. Specifically, there are two polished tailpipes with a diameter of 110 mm, which are spaced 200 mm apart from one another and extend slightly upwards. Perfection in the details: the exhaust tailpipes have an inner part that is visible from the outside, which repeats the honeycomb design of the front air inlet. The designers also redesigned the rear bumper; at each end of the bumper there is a carbon inlay in a C-shape (reversed C on the right). The reflector is integrated in the lower horizontal part of the C; the vertical part protrudes slightly from the bumper. Here the designers have worked in a wheel arch exhaust vent.