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950-HP Golf 'R32T' Half-Mile Drags 1,400-HP Porsche 911, Someone Gets Deeply Ashamed

One of the automotive industry's most storied nameplates, the Volkswagen Golf has no less than eight generations under its belt since 1974, almost half a century ago. As such, is anyone surprised by its seemingly eternal cult following – or that some people make various iterations of the star attraction at any event?
VW Golf R32 vs Porsche 911 Turbo S drag race on Automotive Mike 19 photos
Photo: Automotive Mike / YouTube
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The original Golf was created as a front-engined, front-wheel drive replacement project for the air-cooled, rear-everything Volkswagen Beetle – but we all know how the story turned out. Instead of making it obsolete, they continued in parallel and achieved worldwide success plus best-selling status, with over 21 million units for the little bug and over 35 million examples for its younger sibling. So, no wonder people hold them dear and have passionate affairs with them.

One such case was recently caught red-handed by the world-renowned automotive enthusiast videographer Automotive Mike on his YouTube channel while he focused on the latest edition of the Race1000 – Half Mile event that took place, as per tradition, on the unprepped tarmac of Airport Neuhardenberg in Germany. There, during 'round one' (May 13 and 14, 2023), four classes of racers, from 500 to over 1,000 hp and exotics, fought for glory during half-mile (804.67-meter) drags and 1500-ft/457-meter roll races.

And, as always, there was something for everyone. As far as the videographer is concerned, the star attraction was represented by a blue fourth-generation Volkswagen Golf dubbed 'R32T' to signal something was amiss. That and the fact that it was brought on a trailer revealed that this is no daily driver. But maybe it's best to let the races tell the entire story. From the 1:55 mark, we got to see the Golf (allegedly a 950-hp monster, according to the description) duke it out with a green executive sedan – most likely a BMW M5.

After a slow roll-out past the Christmas tree, the bonkers VW Golf didn't seem able to recover the lost distance from its opponent, in the end posting a very close 17.33s versus 17.78s elapsed time loss. Alas, according to the Race1000 rules, for the drag races, it was the higher trap speed that mattered the most. So, the little VW snatched its first victory thanks to a 271-kph (168 mph) top speed, while the BMW only reached 244 kph (152 mph). But, as it turns out, this was just the appetizer.

Next up, along came a proper sports car, an LCE Performance-tuned Porsche 911 Turbo S that allegedly packed around 1,400 ponies. Well, as they say, it's not the size of the stable but the way you choose to use its assets that matters. Such was also the case here, as this time around, the 'R32T' was much faster off the start line and took command of the race early on. It never relinquished and ultimately proved its Hot Hatch abilities with a 201-kph (125 mph) trap speed against the opponent's 197-kph (122 mph) performance. Cool, right?

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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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