Volkswagen is building a new version of the Golf R, and if the numbers are to be believed it’s going to be an absolute bastard. In a good way.
The two litres engine under the bonnet is a familiar unit – it’s the same lump used in the already quite ferocious Golf GTI. However in this case it’s been tuned to hell and back with a modded cylinder head, exhaust valves, valve seat and springs pistons, injection valves and a larger turbocharger to produce a hefty 300PS (296bhp) and 380Nm of torque.
That sort of power would cause an ordinary front-wheel-drive car to wheel-spin so hard it’d dig its way to China, but the Golf R uses VW’s 4MOTION four-wheel-drive system to put the power down so effectively it’ll launch from 0-62mph in a blistering 5.3 seconds, four tenths quicker than the previous model. At full tilt, it’ll hit 155mph before its electronic speed limiter kicks in.
Cornering should be respectable, as the Golf R’s suspension has been slammed by 20mm over the standard car and by 5mm over the GTI. Adaptive chassis control will be available as an option.
With such an abundance of power available, one could be forgiven for thinking the new Golf R is thirstier than camel in a sweater, but that’s not the case. The new car is actually more efficient, returning combined fuel economy of 39.8mpg (or 40.9 in the DSG version) with CO2 emissions from 159g/km. That’s 18 per cent better than the outgoing car.
Thew new Golf R will go on show for the first time at the Frankfurt Motor Show in a few weeks.
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