THE Volkswagen Golf GT with its twincharged engine is the result of a car manufacturer accepting its responsibility for the environment while acknowledging its customers' desire for something fun to drive, says Olaf Duebel.

'The GT has a unique engine that none of our competitors have,' explains Dr Duebel, the managing director of Volkswagen Group Singapore. 'Suddenly, there is a car which is fun to drive but without the high fuel consumption.'

The GT employs twincharged or TSI technology, where both a supercharger and a turbocharger are mounted on a relatively small four-cylinder petrol engine.

Usually, one or the other is strapped to an engine but never two of them at the same time.

The supercharger, or compressor, is connected in front of the engine and the turbo behind it. By combining the best of both worlds, there is superb low-end torque (from the compressor) without the turbo lag (or delay in power delivery) commonly associated with a turbocharged engine.

At the same time, the small displacement of the 1.4-litre engine means that good fuel economy can also be achieved.

VW is the leading manufacturer of diesel-engined passenger cars in Europe.

The carmaker wanted to create a petrol engine with diesel's good low-end torque characteristics as well as highdriving pleasure. The solution was TSI or twincharging.

Dr Duebel says the 1.4-litre TSI has the power of a conventional 2.5-litre engine but with better fuel economy than a 1.6-litre petrol unit. The Golf GT's stated fuel consumption under a combined cycle is 7.2 litres per 100 km, or a whopping 13.9 km per litre. This is for a car with maximum power of 170 hp and 240 Newton-metres of torque, and which accelerates from zero to 100 kmh in 7.9 seconds.

The conventional idea of higher power output is that it is usually equated with higher fuel consumption. But VW engineers say there are two main reasons for the GT's excellent fuel economy - the relatively low displacement, and the taller gear ratios. The latter is possible because of the engine's good low-end torque.

'The Golf GT appeals to Singaporeans who are technology-driven and, at the same time, concerned with fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions,' says Dr Duebel, adding that the GT has carbon dioxide emissions of just 174 grams per kilometre.

So far, demand for the $102,000 (with COE) car has been 'overwhelming', and Dr Duebel says VW's landed stock of 30 units is already sold. 'The next shipment of cars is also booked,' he adds.

It is models like the GT which makes VW bullish about 2007 sales, says Dr Duebel. Almost 150 VW units have been sold in the first four months but the goal is 'over 900'. Last year, 623 VWs were sold.

In March this year, Volkswagen became the first car manufacturer in Singapore to operate its own direct dealership.

'We are confident we can meet our target because of additional new products, new technology, and because we are closer to our customers.'