THE Volkswagen Golf GTi is now in its fifth generation, and celebrating its 30th anniversary in the UK.

Fans of the evergreen GTi see it as nothing less than the greatest hot hatchback of all time - indeed, it was the very first, and has spawned a very long line of imitators.

The first examples to arrive in Britain reined in 110 horses from the 1.6-litre engine, through a four-speed manual gearbox.

Contrast that with today's VW GTi, a 2.0-litre, 207bhp, 146mph flyer - with an even more powerful Golf available, the 3.2-litre, 236 horsepower R32 which has a limited 155mph top speed.

Volkswagen still takes the GTi bloodline seriously, and has just unveiled a unique design study, the GTi W12-650.

Paraded before Europe's biggest gathering of GTi fans at the annual GTI festival in Worthersee, Austria, the design study mates a Golf GTI three-door bodyshell to a bespoke mid-mounted, bi-turbo, 6.0-litre W12 645 horsepower engine, which channels drive power to the rear wheels.

To date, it is the most powerful Golf ever produced by Volkswagen, and is also the fastest. Note the supercar performance figures - from standstill to 62mph in just 3.7 seconds, with a potential maximum speed of 201.8mph.

Ride height has been lowered by 70mm, and performance is enhanced by lower extensive use of under-floor aerodynamic aids, including a diffuser to keep the vehicle pinned to the ground at very high speeds.

The W12 engine's cooling systems are fed by a pair of side-mounted vents placed just ahead of the rear wheels, and the 5,998cc power pack is an evolution of the 444 horsepower version fitted to the firm's Phaeton luxury saloon. The pair of turbochargers sees peak torque, 553 lbs/ft, delivered at 4,500 rpm - making it over three times more powerful than the conventional Golf GTi. Will it make it on to the production line? If the clamour surrounding it at the Austria event is anything to go by - yes.

Meanwhile, Audi has just revealed a TT study, the clubsport quattro.

The clubsport quattro study has taken the TT Roadster to purist level by borrowing traits from the world of motorsport to produce a pure driving machine.

It's stunning to look at, and there's no hood, and no A-pillar. Instead, there's a low, wrap-around tinted windscreen to evoke the image of a speedster.

The two humps located behind the two interior seats, in place of the hood compartment, give the TT clubsport quattro the air of an early 1960s racing car, and this, together with the single-frame grille, which has aluminium inserts, makes the TT clubsport quattro appear even flatter than it actually is. The four rings of the firm's famous logo are not located in the grille as on most Audi models, but on the bonnet.

The large air inlets in the lower front end supply additional air to the more potent 2.0-litre, 260 horsepower TFSI engine.

A set of 20-inch wheels emphasise the car's muscular appearance, as does its track width, which has been increased by a 80millimetres compared with a production TT. The wheel arches have also been enlarged. The car is painted Daytona Grey, a colour that Audi first used on the RS4 and S8, and racing bucket seats are provided for both occupants. Ceramic brakes are fitted in the TT study for the first time - they are non-fading and enable sharp braking without any loss of stopping power.

Ceramic brakes are already offered for the RS4, the A8 and S8. The good news here is that the Audi TT clubsport quattro is being considered for a limited-numbers production run. When it appears, the queue will be as awesome as the car.