2016 VW Golf GTI Clubsport Is Ready, Here's Your First Review

Before, we were getting special edition GTIs every five years to celebrate the launch of the original. This is different. The GTI Clubsport is a car made without holding back for the people who want more from those three iconic letters.

When the Clubsport was last shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show, we were led to believe production would start in 2016, which is also when the first reviews will come out. That's only partially true, as a track event organized at the Portimao circuit in Portugal gave us ample opportunities to check out what the fastest VW has to offer.

With 265 horsepower coming from a turbo 2.0L engine and no AWD, the Clubsport is technically slower than the R. However, it can deliver even more power for short bursts and may prove to be much faster around a track.

EVO Magazine is the first out of the gates with a video review of this car. We've seen Dan Prosser sample all the other hot hatches, so he should know what to look for here.

He tells us that the GTI Clubsport is nothing as uncompromising as the Megane 275 Trophy-R. In fact, it has an even better interior than the regular GTI, while Renault stripped everything out.

Do you want one? Of course you do. Unfortunately, we can't tell you what it will cost yet. Theoretically, it should be cheaper than the Golf R, but considering how many features they've added, we're not so sure anymore.

But the big question is why should you buy the GTI CS when the SEAT Leon Cupra R outputs 290 PS as standard, not just when overboost is engaged, and uses the same type of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires? Only the die-hard VW fans have the answer to that.