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The Fastest FWD Car on the Nurburgring Returns to the Scene of the Crime

The Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S managed to steal the crown off the head of another group member, the SEAT Leon Cupra 280, and place it firmly on top of it.
VW Golf GTI Clubsport S on the 'Ring 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
It had 310 hp to help it on its quest, all obtained from the well-known 2.0-liter four-cylinder TFSI engine, only here it is tuned for more power. It's the same unit found in the Audi TTS coupe, but Volkswagen says it has operated some modifications including a new ECU map and a sportier exhaust system.

The latter can occasionally be heard during the one-minute long clip of two Golfs Clubsport S tearing it up on the famous racetrack in Germany. It doesn't look like they're pushing it too hard, but you know what they say: the slower it seems on video, the faster the cars are actually going.

The Golf GTI Clubsport S managed to beat its sibling's time by a hefty nine-second margin, making it very difficult for any production front-wheel-drive car to challenge the title. Just so you can get an idea, the Golf lapped the 'Ring in 7:49:21, the same time as a Corvette C6 Z06 in 2007 and faster than a BMW M2 in a test conducted by British Car magazine in 2015.

And when you consider that its acceleration time isn't at all that impressive (5.8 seconds to 100 km/h, 62 mph), you realize it all has to do with its handling characteristics. Indeed, the Golf GTI Clubsport S has a tuned suspension system, lowered weight (it's got no backseat, reduced soundproofing, and other paraphernalia you don't really need on this type of car), and, most important of all, a set of semi-slick Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires. It's safe to say that they're the ones that made all the difference. Well, maybe not all, but most of it.

Only 400 will be made, which will make the VW GTI Clubsport S a bit of a collector's item. Volkswagen has clearly built it for one purpose and one purpose only: beating the record on the Nurburgring. And the plan worked - not that there were any doubts about it, considering it had to beat the performance of a very similar car, but with less power. Well, sorry SEAT, but we guess these are the perks you get when your brand also gives the name of the entire Group.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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