DRIVINGCOMPILED

VW GOLF GTI CLUBSPORT anthony@ramsaymedia.co.za

Useful advice for wannabe drag-racers: when someone advises you to disengage the diff-lock, hold down the brake pedal with your left foot, then release it and floor the gas pedal as the light turns green, first make sure the dragstrip isn’t still wet from the morning shower.

Having failed to carry out this simple check myself, I had enough time to bang off a few emails from my mobile, finish my morning coffee and contemplate the vicissitudes of fate before the front wheels of the Golf GTI Clubsport stopped their chattering and gripped the asphalt to send me hurtling down the quarter-mile strip. My elapsed time for the run was well under a minute, which may or may not be a record.

Personal sprint skills aside, the local debut of VW’S seriously hot GTI – coming four decades after the first model’s international launch and 34 years after its arrival in South Africa – has triggered a frisson of excitement among hot-hatch aficionados, and deservedly so. It’s a sophisticated hell-raiser of a car, delivering the kind of performance that leaves the driver breathless and eager for more. Significantly, it’s also a practical and civilised vehicle, with a firm yet forgiving suspension that won’t rattle your teeth during the daily commute. Want one? Be prepared to cough up R540 200 for the privilege of owning a 21stcentury icon.

It comes with a turbocharged directinjection engine developing 195 kw (that’s a full 26 kw more than the Golf GTI Performance Pack). Not quite enough for your taste? Then consider this: for about 10 seconds, you can boost engine power to 213 kw and torque from 350 to 380 N.m simply by flooring the accelerator pedal. The result is a decidedly vigorous sprint from standstill to 100 km/h in 5,9 seconds, topping out at a governed 249 km/h.

VW says the idea is to give the driver enough time to complete an overtaking manoeuvre or negotiate a succession of bends on a racetrack. Afterwards, the engine returns to standard mode (that is, a power output of 195 kw) for at least 10 seconds before the boost becomes available again.

The GTI’S engine is based on the 1 984 cm³ TSI unit that powers the formidable Golf R. This third-generation design features such technical refinements as a water-cooled exhaust channel to the turbocharger (integrated into the cylinder head) and variable valve timing with dual camshaft adjustment. In the Golf R, the engine’s power is transferred to the front and rear wheels via an all- wheel-drive system, whereas the new Clubsport channels power to the front wheels. The Clubsport uses a 6-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic box that produces a distinctive “phut” as you swap cogs. There is no manual option, and it’s not needed, either.

An electronically controlled XDS+ diff lock on the front wheels works with the car’s stability control system to optimise its cornering ability, sending extra power to the outside wheel to reduce accelerationrelated understeer. In combination with a carefully tuned suspension, this delivers an extraordinarily stable and sure-footed ride. In short, the Clubsport eats corners for breakfast.

Is this the hottest-ever Golf GTI? Not quite. An even faster version – a two-door, two-seater designated Clubsport S – will be produced in a limited run of 400 units, of which only 47 will be coming to South Africa. Shedding seats and just about every passenger comfort in pursuit of weight loss, with more power (228 kw) and semi-slick 19-inch tyres, it achieves a top speed of 265 km/h. The Clubsport S recently set the lap record for front- wheeldrive cars on the Nürburgring Nordschleife with a time of 07:49:21.

VW’S proven ESC Sport function, activated by a two-stage switch on the centre console, comes as standard in the Clubsport. If the driver pushes the button once, Electronic Stability Control (ESC) switches to the ESC Sport mode. During very fast driving with lots of bends – for example, on a racetrack – the ESC response is delayed, giving the driver more discretion to exploit the car’s abilities (and his own nerve, for that matter).

We’re told that more than 2 million Golf GTIS have been sold worldwide since 1976, including over 62 000 in South Africa. Having driven the new Clubsport, we get it.

Footnote: Hats off to VW South Africa for actually encouraging journalists to drive like hooligans at the Killarney circuit in Cape Town, albeit in safe and controlled conditions. As an aside, my personal thanks for having the decency not to publish our dragstrip times. – A L A N DUGGAN