VW rolls out hottest Golf yet

IMPROVEMENT: POWER OUTPUT BOOSTED BY AN ADDITIONAL 15KW TO BRING IT TO 228KW

Golf R’s optional titanium exhaust system purrs like a kitten.

It’s no secret that the next version of the Golf – the 8th generation – is on its way. In fact, it’s undergoing testing and is likely to make its way to the local showroom floors sometime in 2020.

In the meantime, Volkswagen SA isn’t prepared to see the existing model disappear in the sunset just yet and have added some spice – seriously hot stuff – to the existing range-topper the Golf R.

Not that a hot hatch producing 213kW was in desperate need of more power, but it was boosted by an additional 15kW nonetheless to bring it to 228kW. It’s the most powerful Golf ever in South Africa. The powertrain is matched to a seven-speed DSG gearbox.

Apart from the power output improvement, the new Golf R features two additional optional features which should make it even more desirable: a R Performance titanium exhaust and R Performance brakes with calipers painted black with the R logo.

For the exhaust, VW partnered with Akrapovic, a renowned Slovenian manufacturer owned by former motorbike racer Igor Akrapovic. The system is 7kg lighter than the standard exhaust and boy, does it make the car sound good.

At an additional R39 900, the titanium exhaust might sound excessive, but once you get used to that sound, you will not want the Golf R without those acoustics.

The good-looking brakes will set you back a further R9 900, which together with the exhaust will push the price up to R725 800. Yes, that is a lot of money for a Golf, but you’ll struggle to find a competing standard production car with this amount of oomph, iconic appeal and feel-good factor for less than seven figures.

The GTI definitely handles better purely because the car is lighter, but with the addition of allwheel drive and having the option of adaptive chassis control, the Golf R is more than capable in uti- lising it’s extra vooma to good effect. And the straight-line speed – a claimed zero to 100km/h in 4.6 seconds – is simply blistering.

Since the launch of Golf’s seventh generation in 2013, almost half of the cars sold locally have consisted of the three performance models, the GTI, GTD and R. This percentage can only go up with the unique appeal of the new Golf R