Aside from the potential display of more than 100,000 Golfs at the largest GTI gathering in the world in Wörthersee, Austria, this year’s edition will also mark the world premiere of the new Golf GTI TCR.
Due to be launched at the end of the year, the road-going version of the two-time overall winner of the international TCR race series carries all the aesthetic features of a GTI, with Golf R levels of performance lurking underneath it.
The special edition is reported to make 286 hp (identical to the Golf R) with 370 Nm of torque (10 Nm less than the R) from its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, with power channeled to a 7-speed DSG gearbox. The GTI TCR will top out at 250 km/h (264 km/h with the electronic limiter removed), making it the fastest Golf available for road use.
The race car for the road will pick up from where the 306 hp GTI Clubsport left off – a Golf GTI 40th anniversary tribute model – that was once the fastest front-wheel drive to lap the Nurburgring, until the FK8 Civic Type R came along.
IMAGE GALLERY
