- The Volkswagen Golf R goes endurance racing for the 2027 24h Nürburgring.
- VW is working with Max Kruse Racing to develop the track-only machine.
- 2027 will mark 25 years of R fashions.
Whereas some lovers are nonetheless ready for a five-cylinder Golf R, Volkswagen has a unique thought for a hardcore sizzling hatch. Wolfsburg’s pocket rocket will race on the Nürburgring subsequent yr to mark 1 / 4 century of R fashions. It’s a convention that started in 2002 with the Golf R32 and continues at this time with the eighth-generation Golf and its range-topping R variant.
However that is no strange Golf R. Co-developed with Max Kruse Racing, the track-only machine is shaping as much as be a completely completely different beast. VW stays tight-lipped concerning the technical specs, though we will already spot a number of key modifications. The obvious is a much more aggressive aerodynamic physique equipment, full with a distinguished entrance splitter that might simply double as a snowplow.
On the rear, VW has eliminated the tailgate glass to make means for an opaque panel supporting a gargantuan wing. Boxy wheel arches additional distinguish the race automotive from its road-going counterpart, whereas a radical diffuser and vented entrance fenders are clear indicators this isn’t a run-of-the-mill Golf R.
Photograph by: Volkswagen
The Excessive Golf R Has A Aspect-Exit Exhaust
The absence of the R’s signature quad exhaust ideas would possibly counsel an electrical powertrain, however that’s not the case. Hood vents level to a combustion engine requiring further cooling, and a aspect exhaust is seen in some press photographs. VW says the Golf R 24H is technically a present automotive for now, however work has already begun on the precise car it intends to race on the Inexperienced Hell subsequent yr.
Within the meantime, Reinhold Ivenz, Head of Volkswagen R, is making a daring declare: “probably the most spectacular Golf R so far.” We wouldn’t get our hopes up for a road-going model, because the Golf R 24H is strictly a race automotive. Nonetheless, a press release from spokesperson Martin Hube a few years in the past hinted at the opportunity of a “more track-oriented version.” We’ll have to attend and see whether or not a Golf R Clubsport will comply with.
14
Supply: Volkswagen
Motor1’s Take: Though VW is urgent forward with growth of the ninth-generation, electric-only Golf, it’s encouraging to see the combustion-engine mannequin isn’t being sidelined. A Nürburgring-ready race automotive is a welcome shock, and there’s hope a toned-down model might ultimately attain showrooms for lovers.
Even with the Golf Mk9 set to launch later this decade, VW has made it clear the present combustion-engine mannequin will proceed. That provides the corporate ample time for a correct ICE send-off with an final Golf. Ideally, classes realized from the Golf R 24H present automotive will trickle all the way down to a Clubsport-spec highway mannequin, however for now, that continues to be wishful pondering.
