Volkswagen has released the first official details of the fastest Golf ever made, the new four-wheel drive Golf R, which is set to make its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.
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The Golf R will sit atop the Golf range above the current performance flagship, the GTI. Underneath, the R is fitted with the same 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine you get in the GTI; however, Volkswagen's boffins have managed to extract an extra 69bhp and 22lb-ft of torque from it, bringing the total power output up to 296bhp and 280lb-ft.
The power is sent to all four wheels via a choice of traditional manual and dual-clutch DSG gearboxes. With the former, the R will catapult from 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds, while opting for the manual gearbox will see that time rise to 5.3 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 155mph.
Volkswagen has managed to achieve this impressive power output by tweaking the pistons and the cylinder head and by adding a new turbocharger. The R also comes with a clever four-wheel drive system which sends torque only to the front wheels when you're pootling around, only brining the rear axle into play when you're really hammering it. In fact, if the VW's silicon brain deems it necessary, almost 100 per cent of the power can be sent to the rear wheels, which should make the R an involving drive.
The upside of the part-time four-wheel drive system is, of course, economy. Volkswagen quotes a combined fuel consumption figure of 39.8mpg for the manual car and 40.9mpg for the DSG, and claims that the R emits just 159g/km of CO2.
The VW engineers have also been hard at work fettling with the R's chassis. The R sits 5mm closer to the road than the GTI and features tuned shocks and dampers. The 18-inch alloy wheels also hide beefier brakes.
In addition to the bigger wheels, the R also gets a new front bumper, redesigned lights and quad exhausts, hinting at the power underneath the bonnet. There's also a choice of eight exterior colours.
Prices for the new Golf R have yet to be announced; however, a starting price of around £30,000 seems likely.
The Golf R goes on sale early next year.
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