This bodes well for a T-Roc performance variant. Spy photographers have just uploaded a video of the little crossover testing on that crucible of automotive performance: The Nurburgring.

Based on the MQB platform and roughly the same size as a Golf (if a little smaller), the T-Roc helps VW fill out its SUV offerings with a fun, outdoorsy, and likely inexpensive crossover.



Since it shares s the Golf’s platform and has been pushed as a “fun” car since its earliest days as a concept, speculation about a performance version has been rampant.

First imagined as a T-Roc GTI, that idea was shot down by VW’s head of product development, Frank Welsch.

“Yes, of course, I could imagine more powerful engines and it has been prepared for the eventuality,”  Welsch told Autoca r back in April. “I wouldn’t call it a GTI — an SUV isn’t a fitting car for that badge, perhaps — but I could imagine it as an R.”

With AWD on the way and the notable exception of either a dash or the word “line” following R, that comment has been the basis of some excitement.

Now, with a model on the Nurburgring, things look promising for a T-Roc that will at least be fun to drive. Admittedly, though, the lack of an engine note in the video above is less encouraging.