As the turn of the new millennium approached, Volkswagen CEO Ferdinand Piëch wanted to show the world that the brand wasn’t just about the ‘people’s car’, and that it was capable of so much more. Ordering VWs power plant designers to develop a W-configuration 12-cylinder engine was one thing, but he also wanted a special supercar built so that the unit had a home. He got his way, and the project would eventually culminate in one of the coolest records ever secured by a performance car.
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