Volkswagen Golf R US Version Confirmed

After bringing hope to hot hatch aficionados in the United States with yesterday's news of Volkswagen potentially bringing the new Golf R to the market, we return today to inform you of the official confirmation that the most powerful Volkswagen sports performance vehicle ever built will be launched in the Land of the Free.

While at first the German manufacturer didn't seem willing to take its sporty model to the US market, now Volkswagen officials changed their minds, and following the request of VW enthusiasts, the company is bringing it to the U.S. in 2012.

The VW Golf R, which is considerably different compared to the regular Golf in terms of exterior styling, has ditched the naturally aspirated 3.2-liter V6 in favor of a 2.0 TSI turbo four-cylinder direct injection engine that outputs 199 kW / 270 hp and 350 Nm of torque at 2,500 rpm. This enables it to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 5.7 seconds. The maximum speed of the Volkswagen Golf R is limited to 250 km/h (155 mph).

Americans who aren't acquainted with stick-shifting are in for some bad news though, as the Golf R will only be available with a manual transmission. So much for shaving those extra milliseconds off your gearshifts in a drag race.

Although Volkswagen hasn't announced anything, we're almost certain the VW Golf R will be presented at the 2011 Detroit auto show in January.

autoevolution will be attending the 2011 NAIAS, so stay tuned for some real up close and personal shots of the vehicles, as well as for first-hand details of the motorized contraptions presented at the event.