VW Tiguan R Prototype Spied Road Testing With Quad Exhaust, Possible 2.0 TSI

The Tiguan R has been somewhat confirmed as part of the expansion of the R brand. It will be out in time for the Tiguan's mid-life facelift, but after the Arteon R makes its appearance. There's one notable difference between this prototype and the blue one we saw last year (other than the color, obviously), and that's the exhaust configuration.

Previously, the Tiguan R had the dual oval exhaust pipes that you also see at the back of the RS3, but that's changed to a quad setup that we associate with the Golf R. The Cupra Ateca performance SUV, which rides on the MQB platform too, also uses four pipes but has only four cylinders to deliver 300 HP. We want the full performance experience with five cylinders and at least 400 HP, but probably won't get it.

Our spies say this test prototype didn't sound the part. Don't be tricked by the readiness of the body, as the aggressive air intakes belong to the R-Line package that you can have with any old diesel engine.

So if they are going to use a 2-liter, how much power will this deliver? Well, recent reports out of Germany talk about the next Golf R having 330 HP, so that's a start. In addition, the Golf R 400 refuses to disappear and is now rumored as a 400 HP hybrid. Could this be what's being cooked up here?

So far, the Tiguan doesn't have a PHEV system, even though this was previewed by the GTE concept a couple of years back. Due to emissions targets set by the EU, the VW Group seems to be developing performance hybrids as a way to justify the cost of battery tech. The Leon Cupra has already been earmarked for such a change.