Stock 2015 Golf GTI Dyno Test Shows 263 HP, Proves VW Underrates Their Cars

The guys at FSwerks strapped a bone-stoke base model GTI with a manual gearbox to the dyno and found that if a 15% drivetrain loss is taken into the consideration, the car makes 263 hp, not 210 hp as claimed. Torque is also higher at 314 lb-ft compared to 258 lb-ft as claimed.

Remember, this is a US-spec base model running on 91 octane fuel, which is why the ratings are different to the European ones. Some people on the interwebs are saying the powertrain loss should be more like 12%, not 15%. But still, FSwerks admits this is likely the reason why their GTI is faster than a 252 hp Focus ST in a drag race.

It's said that VW did the same with the Mk6 GTI as well, releasing an official power output that's closer to what's available at the wheel. Some German companies also take into consideration altitude and heat to give you a sort of minimum hp figure. If you don't live on top of a Himalayan mountain, expect more!

If the dyno thing is up for endless discussion, the weight of the car isn't – it's clearly better than claimed. The official number for a US-spec 2015 GTI is 3,105 lbs, which is still lighter than the Ford if we remember correctly. But FSwerks got 2,993 lbs with a full tank of gas in the the car. The Germans really worked wonders with that MQB platform, didn't they?

In any case, we're pretty sure you guys will contradict these results to no end. So just to keep things on the leven C&D magazine released similar results where the GTI is faster than the Focus ST in almost every way.

What's weird is that European GTIs have never shown these sorts of numbers. Oh sure, some have gone 10 hp over the official rating, but never this much. Clearly, this is corporate strategy at work.