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Volkswagen Golf GTD Top Speed Run Will Give OCD People a Seizure

Check out Volkswagen's press releases over the past year, and you'll see most of them are EV-related. However, check out the output of the manufacturer's production plants throughout the world, and you'll find that the vast majority of the cars they make use internal combustion engines, with plenty of them having diesels.
Volkswagen Golf 8 GTD acceleration run 14 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
After delivering what was probably the final blow for diesel-powered passenger cars through the infamous Dieselgate scandal, Volkswagen has embarked on a mission to change the face of the company and the tailpipe emissions of its lineup. It'll be six years in September since the existence of the emissions defeat device was uncovered, and the only difference in the way Volkswagen is selling its oil burners is that it's doing it very quietly now. Almost under the radar, you might say.

However, Volkswagen continuing the performance oriented GTD moniker, which started in 1984 with the second generation of its compact hatchback, is proof that the German giant isn't yet ready to let go of the past. Nor could it that quickly, to be fair, as switching to a new type of propulsion after decades of doing things a different way can't happen overnight. Or over six years.

The Golf Mk8 GTD doesn't differ too much in terms of its powertrain from the Mk7, but the two-liter four-cylinder does gain a little more power to reach a very round 200 PS (197 hp). The torque figure sits at a hefty 295 lb-ft (400 Nm), but that's to be expected from a turbodiesel.

Despite the name similarities with the GTI, the GTD isn't as big on performance as its sibling. The 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) sprint takes 7.1 seconds, a number confirmed in the run you'll see below to the tenth of a second, and the top speed is rated at 152 mph (245 kph). Depending on the reference point (the vehicle's dashboard or the Dragy GPS measuring device), the real-world test goes over the official figure according to the former or stops short of it, according to the latter. However, before you watch, consider this friendly warning: if you suffer from OCD, don't stick around until the end, or you'll have your day ruined. Don't say we didn't tell you.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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