The Golf GTI Clubsport is probably my favorite car from this year's Frankfurt Motor Show. Google liked my story, but it didn't get much attention from you guys. Seems an SUV with a W12 engine is more important… go figure.
Hot hatch fanatics are surely going to love this car just as much as I do, but only once it goes on sale. Next year, the GTI is turning 40 years old and to celebrate its parents at Volkswagen are launching this performance model.
Following its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the Clubsport is finally being allowed to race on the Nurburgring track in full production clothes. So that means the exhaust, oversized alloy wheels and rear wing are all as they will be when you buy one.
A 2-liter turbo engine is not a big deal these days. Even the MINI Cooper S has one, and so does the Hyundai Sonata. We probably won't impress you with the numbers of this one, but we're still going to try.
The GTI's standard output is 220 PS, but a Clubsport model will offer 265 PS, just like the base SEAT Leon Cupra. Under hard acceleration, that number will rise to 290 PS. So it's like a two-in-one cup of coffee to wake you up in the morning.
A Volkswagen that's just as powerful as a SEAT is not very impressive, but for hardcore GTI fans, the Clubsport is going to be like the second coming of Jesus. It will be more fun to drive than the Golf R and should set the fastest lap around the Nurburgring of any Volkswagen model.
For the record, the similarly powered Leon Cupra did a 7:58, so we could have a Golf that's as fast as an Audi RS5 or Aston Martin DBS next spring.
The price? They won't tell us yet, but you should save around €35,000.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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