The 7 Best Cars With A VW VR6 Engine | Feature

Last week, Volkswagen quietly wrapped up production on its VR6 engine. It was a motor that, over nearly 34 years, helped it push out more performance models and make a crucial move upmarket, helping underpin the wider VW Group at a time that many would argue was its peak era.

The unconventional V6, with offset cylinder banks allowing for a very narrow angle and a single cylinder head, has featured in plenty of cars over the decades, and we’ve picked out our favourites to be powered by it.

VW Corrado

One of the very first cars to feature the VR6 was also one of the coolest. The wedgy VW Corrado was a replacement for the second-gen Corrado, but it was a more upmarket prospect, and some of that image came from the inclusion of a six-pot. In its most powerful 2.9-litre guise, it was pushing out 187bhp, very respectable for the early ’90s. It also gives us fond memories of the first Forza Horizon, so extra points there.

VW Beetle RSi

The revived VW Beetle was nothing short of a cultural phenomenon when it launched in 1997, but we’re fairly sure nobody imagined it as the basis for a rip-roaring performance car. That’s just what VW turned it into in 2001, though, with the uber-rare Beetle RSi. Featuring a 3.2-litre VR6 making 221bhp and four-wheel drive, just 250 were made, and they’re now a certified modern classic.

VW Golf Mk4 R32

Of course, the Beetle was just a Mk4 Golf underneath, and little did we know, the limited-run RSi effectively served as a preview for the R32. There had been VR6 Golfs before, but this was the first to wear VW’s R badge, marking it out as a performance step above the GTI. The mechanical makeup was the same as the RSi, but power was now 238bhp, and it was also the first road car to get a dual-clutch gearbox.

VW Passat R36

This is as powerful as the VR6 ever got – its 3.6-litre, 296bhp guise. That was used to greatest effect in the hot R36 version of the B5 Passat which, with a 5.6-second 0-62mph time and a 155mph top speed, was able to keep the V8-powered Audi S4 honest. It’s part of a breed of hot versions of more mass-market saloons that just don’t really exist anymore, but best of all, it also came as a fast estate.

VW Phaeton

An attempt to muscle in on the roadgoing business jet territory occupied by the Mercedes S-Class from a manufacturer whose name means ‘People’s Car’ was probably always destined to fail. Despite that, though – perhaps because of it – the Phaeton remains an oddly cool thing. The 3.2-litre VR6 may have been the most pedestrian of an engine range that also included a massive W12 and a diesel V10, but that also means it’s one the cheapest and most common – and for what they’re worth these days, a VR6 Phaeton is an awful lot of car for the money.

Audi TT 8N

The Beetle was proof that VW could create an absolute phenomenon by dropping a style-conscious body onto humble Golf underpinnings, so it did it again with Audi the following year. The original TT may not have been the first sports car choice for heel-and-toe helmsmiths, but over 25 years on, it still looks sensational. When it got a 247bhp 3.2-litre V6 in 2003, it finally had the punch and soundtrack to match those looks.

Porsche Cayenne E1

Hopefully, 22 years on, we’ve all got over the idea of Porsche making an SUV, especially because the Cayenne’s staggering success is probably responsible for a good chunk of the brilliant sports cars the company’s made since. While the fast GTS and Turbo versions stole the headlines, it was the entry-level 3.2-litre (later a 3.6) VR6 that did much of the heavy lifting. Porsche may very well not have been the company it is today without it.