VW Golf R to up its game again: could hot new special edition top 400bhp?

Will a 400bhp Golf ever come to fruition? Volkswagen has been teasing an ultra-high performance variant of the Golf R for almost a decade now. But with the clock ticking to get a petrol-powered flagship onto the market before the firm goes hell-for-leather with its all-electric hot hatchbacks, now could be the time. And it seems VW might think the same, because the brand has once again been spotted putting a Golf R prototype with a few key modifications through its paces at the Nürburgring in Germany. 

The reality of putting a 400bhp Golf on sale in Europe and the UK is a much tougher task now than it was 10 years ago, however. More stringent emissions regulations, plus smaller economies of scale given the model’s shrinking sales are the main threats, but there’s also a few new opportunities. 

Internal politics have long been a reason for VW’s hesitancy at putting such a high-performance model on sale. A 400bhp power figure would match that of Audi’s RS 3 in a car that has traditionally occupied the top step of VW’s hot-hatchback hierarchy. But, with the five-cylinder Audi soon going out of production, this could be an opening for VW. And if you’re in the market for a hot Golf, or any Golf for that matter, check out the Auto Express Buy A Car service for all the latest deals.

Looking at the prototype, there are a few tell-tale modifications that could suggest big power gains are part of the plan. The bonnet features a new pair of vents at their outer edges, suggesting that VW have needed to make changes in order to regulate hot engine bay temperatures. 

This speculation is backed up by what could be a larger radiator mounted behind the modified lower grille. We can’t quite see if any additional front-mounted charge coolers are fitted – as you’ll see on other high-performance models, such as the Mercedes-AMG A45 S – the outer edges of the main intake have been opened up compared with the standard Golf R, which is where they would likely sit. 

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Something we can see is that there are no fundamental changes to the Golf’s bodywork, which suggests that the track widths will largely be left alone. Audi typically widens the front wheelarches of its A3 in order to create a more focused set-up for the RS 3, something that in theory could be fitted to a Golf, because the two models share many components under the skin.

Even without bodywork changes, this many mechanical changes would likely lead to a big price tag, which poses the final question: would there even be a market for a Golf that could cost upwards of £65,000 or even £75,000? There’s only one way to find out, VW.

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