Volkswagen Golf

Golf GTI special gets a grip!

Legendary hot hatch goes back to the future for latest limited edition.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Ross Pinnock

28th April 2008

The latest Volkswagen Golf GTI has plenty of grip – and that’s just from its seats! As this picture shows, the upholstery of the new Pirelli model features a rubber tread pattern to hold you firmly in place.

However, there’s more to the newcomer than some snazzy seats and yellow stitching. Power from the GTI’s 2.0-litre turbocharged FSI engine is boosted from 197bhp to 227bhp – and as a result, the 0-62mph sprint time is slashed by four-tenths-of-a-second, to 6.8 seconds.

There’s also a colour-coded body-kit, as well as smoked rear light clusters and tinted windows. Unique tail-gate badges complete the changes.

This isn’t the first time the brands have joined forces to produce a special edition. They teamed up to offer a Pirelli version of the original Golf GTI in 1983. It was identified by its unique alloy wheels, which featured the tyre maker’s P motif.

The latest car has 18-inch alloys shod with Pirelli P-Zero rubber, and is available to order now. It’s scheduled to arrive in showrooms here in June, and buyers will be offered a choice of three colours: silver, black or blue. Prices start from £22,555.