2013 VW Jetta Hybrid Sets a Record at Bonneville World Finals

On October 5th the 2013 Jetta Hybrid LSR returned to the Salt Flats on to break the Southern California Timing Association’s (SCTA) H/PS land speed record.

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Back in August the 2013 VW Jetta Hybrid became the world’s fastest hybrid at Bonneville. On October 5th the Jetta Hybrid LSR returned to the Salt Flats on to break the Southern California Timing Association’s (SCTA) H/PS land speed record. The class is for production cars with engines of less than 1.5 liters that use forced induction. Motor Trend Associate RoadTest Editor Carlos Lago averaged 186.313 mph over two runs during the SCTA’s World Finals event, eclipsing the previous record by 18.8 mph. In the course of making his second run, Lago averaged 187.147 mph for the last mile, beating the magical 300 km/h mark. This is also the fastest run recorded by a hybrid, beating the 185.394 mph set by the same car back in August.

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“We’re very proud that the Jetta Hybrid has not only posted the fastest speed for a hybrid at Bonneville, but that it has gone out and broken an SCTA land speed record as well,” said Jonathan Browning, CEO and President, Volkswagen Group of America. “Achieving this record at Bonneville shows that the all-new 2013 Jetta Hybrid is a distinctly different offering in the compact hybrid class, offering excellent fuel economy while retaining the fun-to-drive nature expected from a Volkswagen.”

Lago drove a Jetta Hybrid specially modified to run in the SCTA’s H/PS class. Since the Jetta Hybrid runs in a production-car class, modifications are strictly controlled by the SCTA. The suspension was lowered, special Salt Flat wheels and tires fitted, and the interior was stripped and outfitted with full safety equipment, such as a roll cage, racing seat and harness, and a full fire suppression system. The powertrain was modified by Volkswagen R&D in Wolfsburg, Germany with the modified hybrid system putting out around 300 hp.

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“We are really proud that our new Jetta Hybrid has taken the land speed record for its class,” said Marc Trahan, Executive Vice President, Group Quality. “This was a fascinating project for our engineering team in Wolfsburg, who had to integrate the complex hybrid elements and generate a lot of additional power in a very short period of time in order to take the record. The Jetta Hybrid LSR project shows both the sporty nature of our hybrid offering and the technical excellence of our engineers in Wolfsburg and the Test Center California.”

VW announced last week that the 2013 Jetta Hybrid starts at $24,995.