Volkswagen Golf GTE Sport Concept Is Good, Clean, Plug-in Fun

This wild hatchback originally premiered at the annual Wörthersee festival back in May, but it's making its auto show debut in Frankfurt.

The Golf GTE Sport uses both gas and electric sources to develop 396 total system horsepower. That gas engine, a 1.6-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, was swiped from the engine bay of Volkswagen's three-time World Rally Championship-winning Polo R WRC, and generates 295 hp on its own. A pair of electric motors – one per axle – each produce 113 hp, and are fed by a lithium-ion battery pack. Total electric range is an impressive 31 miles.

Of course, you don't care about that. You care about what the Golf GTE Sport can do when you switch out of EV or hybrid mode and switch into GTE. In this setting, both the gas engine and electric motors kick in to deliver max performance. Sixty-two miles per hour arrives in just 4.3 seconds and the top speed is an impressive 174 mph.

The styling is like a mix of older Golf concepts: VW's two Vision Gran Turismo cars, the Roadster and Supersport, with some of the current GTI thrown in.