CleanMPG Forums - World’s Fastest Hybrid Is A 2013 VW Jetta TSI

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Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Aug 17, 2012

2013 VW Jetta Hybrid specially prepped for the Salt Flats – Pricing TBA while providing its owners with a 45 mpgUS combined rating.

In a project taken on by Motor Trend Magazine and VW, magazine writer Carlos Lago ran the upcoming 2013 Jetta Hybrid turbo to a crazy fast 185.394 mph to set Hybrid Speed Record at the Bonneville Salt Flats, near Wendover, Nevada, during the Southern California Timing Association’s (SCTA) annual Speed Week. This is the fastest speed ever achieved by a production-based hybrid car on the famed Bonneville Salt Flats.

Lago drove a Jetta Hybrid specially modified to run according to SCTA rules. The all-new Jetta Hybrid marries a 150 HP 1.4L direct-injected and turbocharged I4 gasoline engine with a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission and an electric motor that provides an additional 27 HP.

To achieve the kind of horsepower needed to run at 185 mph at Bonneville, the powertrain was specially modified by Volkswagen R&D in Wolfsburg, Germany. Project integration and other modifications to enable the car to run safely on the salt were handled by A-Salt Racing and Advanced Product Engineering, based in Camarillo, California. The implementation and final calibration of the drivetrain in the car was supported by the engineers from the Volkswagen Test Center California in Oxnard, CA.

Jonathan Browning, CEO and President of VW Group of America said it best when he said:

Quote:

“Expected to achieve combined fuel economy of 45 mpg, the Jetta Turbo Hybrid also retains the fun-to-drive nature you expect in a segment dominated by less exciting vehicles.”

How cool was that?