VW Group Design Boss Says “Flamboyant” is so Last Year, “Simple and Clean” is the Way to Go

Walter de Silva is a man who knows a thing or two about styling; after all, he is in the business for the last 40 years.

The Italian designer has worked at the I.DE.A institute under award-winning architect Renzo Piano, who designed the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the New York Times Building. In the automotive field, he has some pretty impressive designs in his long resume such as the Alfa Romeo 156, the Seat Tango concept, the Audi A5 and the VW Scirocco.

De Silva, who joined Audi in 2002 to become VW Group’s head of design overseeing all brands from Skoda to Bugatti in 2007, believes that the “overdesign” school, which began with BMW's Chris Bangle and his "flame surfacing" that has since been adopted by many automakers, is becoming obsolete.

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Reports , VW , VW Golf

Spied: New 2014 Volkswagen Golf R Sheds All of its Camouflage

The regular versions of the brand-new Volkswagen Golf Mk7 are fine and dandy, but what we really want to see is the performance editions and more specifically, the GTI and of course, the R-branded models of the series.

Just a couple of weeks ago, our spies nabbed a prototype of the next Golf R, but it was armed up to the teeth in camouflage – which was logical since Volkswagen had yet to uncover the Mk7.

Now that it did, however, VW engineers made away with the swirly wraps giving us an unobtrusive view of the prototype Golf R.

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Scoops , VW , VW Golf , VW Golf R , VW Scoops

Greenpeace Attacks the New VW Golf Once Again, Stages Protest During Official Launch

One of the most important models that will debut at the upcoming Paris Auto Show is the seventh-generation VW Golf, which was unveiled in Berlin last Tuesday, September 4.

Even though the brand-new Golf’s basic version posts an official average fuel consumption of 4.9 lt/100 km (48 mpg US), Greenpeace staged a protest outside the New National Gallery, where the event was taking place.

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Ecology , New Cars , Reports , Video , VW , VW Golf , VW Videos

Volkswagen Launches 2013 Golf Campaign, Plus New Videos from Presentation

Volkswagen is sure not wasting any time at all getting the word around about the 2013 Golf Mk7.

After the Berlin presentation on Tuesday, September 4, and the lightning reveal of an online configurator in Germany, VW has now launched an international advertising campaign for the seventh generation Golf.

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commercials , New Cars , Video , VW , VW Golf , VW Videos

Volkswagen and the Seven Golfs: A Brief History of a 38-Year Old Icon

If there is one car that can be compared to the Porsche 911 for using the same recipe for close to four decades, it is the Volkswagen Golf.

In a way, this is ironic since the 911 was derided by its detractors as a “posh Beetle” while recently, the VW Group, which has a long history with Porsche, acquired the Stuttgart sports car maker.

One could not imagine two cars more different than each other as one is a 2+2 sports car with rear- or all-wheel drive and flat-six engines hung out behind the rear axle, while the other is a mass-market compact hatchback with the engine up front driving the front- or all four-wheels.

Nevertheless, despite the changes that come with each generation, the two models have one thing in common: they have adopted the path of careful evolution, not revolution, defining their respective segments and being the default buyers’ choice and the standard against which all newcomers are measured.

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Classics , New Cars , Reports , VW , VW Golf , VW Golf GTI

First Photos of Three-Door 2013 Volkswagen Golf, Configurator Goes Online

We knew that it was only a matter of time before Volkswagen would launch an online configurator for the all-new 2013 Golf Mk7 on its German website after the introduction of the car in Berlin on Tuesday, but what we weren't expecting to see were the first images (CGIs, to be precise) of the three-door variant.

Leaving aside the absence of the rear- and the longer front-doors, there aren't any other cosmetic changes to the body of the three-door hatchback, which is something that we anticipated since VW is covering the sportier compact segment with the Scirocco.

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Galleries , New Cars , Reports , VW , VW Golf

2013 Volkswagen Golf: The Complete Story with Official Details, Photos and Videos [Updated]

Today is the day of the presentation of the all-important, seventh generation of the Volkswagen Golf hatchback that comes into light 36 years and more than 29 million sales after the original model shaped the modern compact segment.

While we have already shared the first photos of the new 2013 Golf five-door hatchback, which will probably be sold as a 2014 model in North America, Volkswagen has released new images and more details on the car following the presentation at a special event in Berlin, Germany, earlier today.

You can judge for yourself by looking at the exterior pictures of the Golf, but we'll just tell you that the new version builds on the appearance of the sixth-generation model with sharper lines and some new details like the small corner window on the front doors.

Walter de Silva, Head of Design for Volkswagen AG, commented on the new Golf's styling: "One of the keys to the Golf’s success lies in its continuity. There are a handful of cars with a design that, like the Golf’s, has been refined, tweaked and enhanced down the decades and thus become timeless."

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New Cars , Paris Auto Show , Video , VW , VW Golf , VW Videos

All-New 2013 Volkswagen Golf Mk7: This is Really It, First Official Photos

It's been a long and frustrating journey for those of us following the developments on the seventh generation of the Volkswagen Golf these past few months, but finally, we have the first official images of the new compact hatchback that was revealed today in Berlin ahead of its public debut at next month's Paris Motor Show.

As anticipated, the exterior styling of the Mk7 is an evolution of the familiar Golf shape with the characteristic thick C-Pillars that has been around for decades with some new touches such as the small corner window on the front doors and the sharp line of the rear doors.

The new Golf also gets newly designed headlamps and tail lights that will incorporate LED fixtures (at least on some versions).

The interior styling of the car will also look familiar to owners of the current, sixth generation of the Golf, with the only really notable change being the center console that is angled towards the driver, much like what we see on BMW models.

What really separates the Mk7 from its predecessor is what you can’t see and in particular, the new MQB platform shared with other models in the VW Group such as the new 2013 Audi A3 and Seat Leon.

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Galleries , New Cars , Paris Auto Show , VW , VW Golf