Volkswagen just took to its social media accounts to release a teaser of a mysterious Golf GTI. We wish for a brand-new TCR but wouldn’t say no to a fresh Clubsport either. After all, the automaker announced it when the latest iteration Golf premiered back in January.
A short clip shared on the company's Instagram account shows glimpses of a mysterious Golf GTI. The car can be seen attacking the famous Carousel at the Nurburgring. Volkswagen highlights the GTI emblem in the footage and reveals that the grand unveiling will take place at the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring on May 31.
So, what exactly are we looking at? Well, given that '50 Years of Golf' is a moving caption in the short video, our bet would be on the Clubsport 50 (name unconfirmed). Five years ago, Volkswagen introduced the GTI Clubsport 45 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the iconic hot hatch, so the Clubsport 50 seems like a very plausible model.
Logic dictates that if we are indeed looking at the Golf GTI Clubsport 50, it will feature some exclusive touches inside and out. Who knows, maybe the Wolfsburg auto brand would also revise the chassis a bit, with an emphasis on faster cornering at the expense of some comfort.
Photo: Volkswagen
It may also boast more power than the latest iteration Golf GTI, whose 2.0L four-pot is good for 261 hp (265 ps/195 kW) on the right side of the pond. That is 20 hp (20 ps/15 kW) more than its predecessor, and we think around 300 metric horsepower (296 hp/221 kW) is possible, a move that would further bridge the gap between the regular front-wheel drive GTI and the upcoming all-wheel drive R. Oh, and since it is a GTI and not an R, the Clubsport 50 will remain front-wheel drive.
We'd go the extra mile and claim that it is possible that the upcoming mysterious Golf GTI could attack the Nurburgring Nordschleife in a timed lap, attempting to set a new record for FWD models. If it wants the crown, then it will have to complete the course quicker than the Honda Civic Type R-S, which was clocked at 7:44.881 last year. In turn, the Japanese hot hatch stole this title from the Renault Megane RS Trophy-R, which did it in 7:45.39.
If we had to choose a special edition Golf GTI, we’d vote for the more track-focused TCR. The old one was good for 286 hp (290 ps/213 kW), and that was 44 hp (45 ps/34 kW) punchier than the era's Golf GTI. The TCR topped out at 162 mph (260 kph) and took 5.6s to reach 62 mph (100 kph). So, are you excited about the upcoming Clubsport model?
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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