Last year Volkswagen’s Motorsport division developed a widebody version of the GTI specifically for competition in accordance with TCR regulations with the end-goal of being able to deliver race-ready Golf’s to customer racing programs for the 2016 season and onwards. The production-based concept showed great promise when it won on it second outing last summer in the TCR International Series at Red Bull Ring in Austria. Now the race cars, built on top of VW’s MQB global platform, are ready for delivery to teams beginning mid-March
Due to the GTI TCR concept car’s success on the track last season, all 20 cars developed by Volkswagen Motorsport were sold by mid-January.
The Golf GTI TCR is nearly 16 inches wider than a production GTI and shares the same 2.0-liter engine as the Golf R. In race form, the turbocharged engine musters 330 horsepower and 302 lb-ft of torque, up from the standard GTI’s 296 horsepower and 280 lb-ft torque, linked to a DSG gearbox with steering wheel mounted shift paddles.
Tucked under the muscular wheel arches are 18-inch rims wrapped with super-wide racing tires. Other exterior features to go along with the widebody kit are matching bumpers, a front splitter, a deeply vented hood, and a massive carbon roof wing. The purpose-built interior is fitted with a full roll cage, racing steering wheel, a single racing seat, and safety equipment in accordance with FIA regulations.
In celebration of the Golf GTI’s 40th anniversary, Volkswagen is releasing the Golf GTI Clubsport, their most powerful production GTI to date. Its 2.0-liter TFSI engine muscles-up 265 ponies — 290 when overboost kicks in — which is 35 more than the previous most powerful Golf GTI.
The VW Golf GTI Mk VII is better than its predecessor on all accounts. Watch how the new GTI performs in this quick drive review and 0 – 60 mph test video.
