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Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport Debuts at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2015

We're here at the Frankfurt Motor Show, where Volkswagen revealed the Golf GTI Clubsport in its production form. We've seen this awesome hot hatch before, but now it's ready for production and everybody seems to like it.
Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport 13 photos
Photo: Stefan Baldauf
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While "Think Blue" is VW's current mantra, the GTI Clubsport is more about "Think Fast". The hatchback is light on its feet and could be the fastest car ever built by the German company. While we wait for the Nurburgring record, let's see what the specs have to say.

Under the bonnet of the Clubsport is a familiar engine, the 2.0 TSI from the EA888. However, compared to the normal GTI, almost every major component has been changed, resulting in a total output of 265 horsepower, 35 more than standard. That's not all – under hard acceleration, output rises to 290 PS, the same as the Leon Cupra. You don't have to push any buttons to activate the overboost, just mash the throttle.

A mechanical limited slip differential is just one of the many goodies designed to enhance performance. The suspension, steering and brakes have all been upgraded.

The Clubsport might as well be called the GTI Edition 40 because it celebrates the VW hot hatchbacks' 4th decade of existence. The styling is much more aggressive than a regular Golf's, but still more discrete than the Honda Civic Type R. The fenders have been flared out slightly, and there are new bumpers at the front and rear.

A quick look at the back draws attention to the massive exhaust pipes, tinted LED taillights and oversized trunk lid spoiler. It gets the sense that this car is proud to be a GTI.

We also got a quick look at the interior in Frankfurt. Things don't look too different, which is to be expected from a Volkswagen. However, there are two major highlights: the Alcantara D-shaped steering wheel with red stitching and the bucket seats with stripes on them. To our taste, they could have done a lot more, considering how mental the Megane and Civic cabins are.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

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.
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