Just how fast can you drive your VW Jetta? Would you take it for a spin at 185 miles per hour?
Well, that’s what Motor Trend magazine writer Carlos Lago recently did at the Bonneville Salt Flats, setting what is said to be the fastest ever speed for a production based hybrid car.
Now we’re not saying you’ll be able to get a specially modified Jetta like this at your local VW dealership. Lago, according to Volkswagen, drove this Jetta Hybrid that was designed to run according to Southern California Timing Association rules.
The standard Jetta Hybrid , before modification, has under the hood a 1.4-liter turbocharged, direct-injection four-cylinder TSI gasoline engine generating 150 horsepower that’s mated with a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission and an electric motor that provides an additional 27 hp.
The one which Lago streaked down the Salt Flats with had its powertrain modified by Volkswagen R&D in Wolfsburg, Germany, along with implementation and final calibration of the drivetrain in the car supported by the engineers from the Volkswagen Test Center California in Oxnard.
The 2013 Jetta Hybrid you’ll see on local streets is expected to to achieve a combined fuel economy of 45 mpg. We first brought you word of this vehicle from the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Features unveiled included a zero to 60 in less than nine seconds, a short EV only range, regenerative braking, six airbags, Bluetooth technology and a digital display showing drive mode, energy consumption and other power-related stats.
As for pricing and availability, it should surface this fall for likely around $25,000, giving it a competitive price point in the increasingly crowded hybrid market space.
