Jul 2010 10

Woerthersee 2010 1

Posted In Features,Slider Features

Touching down in Munich to the smell of baking hot tarmac, the weather was looking good. A quick bite to eat, a few complimentary beers (Lufthansa, Nice!) and another short hop to Klagenfurt airport dropped us directly onto the banks of Woerthersee. With German precision timing, camera kit was checked, t-shirts were hung and local beer was popped open, in time for the biggest baddest accumulation of VAG enthusiasts you’ll ever see, all crammed into the typically peaceful lake side resort of Reifnitz.

Welcome to the 29th GTi Treffen am Woerthersee 2010. The spotlessly clean open-air Volkswagen showroom hails the beginning of the show. Like Superman’s lair it’s crystal white plinths grow from the shores of lake Woerther to show off their latest masterpieces.

At VW’s annual Golf pimping fest in, amongst their already beefed up R spec Passat and Scirocco the company unveiled two special edition Golf GTIs, the first of which is the Golf GTI Adidas. When we saw the preview of the Adidas, it wasn’t immediately clear what was Adidas about it, and still has some mixed reviews around the forums. We know now that the car will feature Adidas logos on the B-pillars and triple stripes down the seats. In the flesh, it looks the business. We await the Burberry edition.

Outside of those cosmetic changes, the Adidas gets 18-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels, bi-xenon headlights, smoked LEDs out back and updated upholstery. Models with a DSG transmission also come with a golf-ball-esque shift knob, echoing the original GTI’s. The last we heard, the Adidas will be produced in the quantity of 4,410 models.

Joining the GTI Adidas at Woerthersee was the Volkswagen Golf GTI Excessive. Unlike the Adidas, the Excessive is only a concept and won’t be seeing production. According to VW, the idea behind the concept is “extreme precision in the definition of shapes, radii and straight lines, as though cut with a razor blade.” OK, we just think it looks pretty good with it’s gloss black trim. Yoko track tyres and rear diffuser hint at the power under the hood. VW says that it’s up to fans whether the accessories used on the Excessive make it into its catalog. Lets hope so!

Another huge release and equally massive stage at Woerthersee was Audi, with the new A1. Audi’s A1 debuted at the Geneva Motorshow back in March, a subcompact hatch marks an attempt at putting a more youthful breed of drivers under the hypnotizing spell of the four rings. Their show didn’t disappoint either, with 6 different flavored A1′s each painstakingly modified to attract every sub category of young new drivers today. From a fashion conscious designer concept, through to a FIFA World Cup edition and even a pimped matt black murdered out HotRod concept with AirRide! I watched the show 3 times!

Whilst the big dogs of Woerthersee served up Schnitzels and beer to their potential customers, the rest of Europe’s finest modified culture did lap after lap around the crowded streets of Reifnitz. Literally any style you are into can be seen here, from some pretty horrendous ‘euro tuning’ style rides plastered in airbrush art and plastic body kits to the chrome rimmed, slammed, smoothed, bagged Audi wagons and Passat cc’s of the Belgian mob. One things for sure though, the UK and US scene is still king here whether you like it or not. Just the right amount of ‘stance’, a carefully chosen colour scheme and a sprinkling of rare OEM magic goes a long way in winning the votes of the adorning crowds.