Wow! Just look at the colour on that car! This is the all new 2013 Volkswagen Beetle GSR. Only 100 will make it to the UK with an official global total of a very limited 3,500 vehicles.
The GSR has a legendary predecessor, the ‘Yellow-Black Racer’ which was based on the Beetle 1303 S and made its debut 40 years ago [NB ‘GSR’ stands for ‘Gelb-Schwarze Renner’ in German, which means ‘Gold-Black Racer’]. Only 3,500 of the original model were produced as well.
The new car features 19 inch wheels in ‘Tornado’ style, R-Line racing seats, high grip leather steering wheel, R-Line dash pad, GSR gear stick, leather handbrake lever gaiter and black floor mats with contrasting yellow embroidery.
Forty years ago, the yellow/black Beetle needed just 50 PS to turn the world of compact cars on its head. These days, it takes somewhat more than that to make headlines, and with its 2.0-litre turbocharged 210 PS engine the GSR needs just 7.3 seconds to accelerate to 62 mph. It has a top speed of 142 mph, 280 Nm of torque from 1,700 rpm to 5,200 rpm, and is expected to return a combined fuel economy of 38.7 mpg with CO2 emissions of 169 g/km. The new Beetle GSR can be ordered with either a six-speed manual or DSG gearbox. The manual Beetle GSR costs £24,900 (OTR RRP) with a £1,500 premium for DSG. The car is available to order now with first deliveries expected in September.
Customers who don’t manage to secure one of the UK’s 100 Beetle GSR models can still get their hands on a faster Beetle: all 2.0-litre TSI models factory ordered from 1 May come with the upgraded engine, offering 210 PS, rather than the previous model’s 200 PS.
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