The progenitor of the new hatch genre, the Volkswagen Golf GTI hits the half-century mark next 12 months, and Wolfsburg is celebrating the milestone with a fiftieth anniversary special edition of the Mk8.5 this June. That date wasn’t picked at random – it coincides with the Nürburgring 24 Hours from June 19 to 22, where race versions of the automobile will aim to secure a second successive class victory.
Not much was revealed within the press release, but Autocar expects the commemorative model to be based on essentially the most potent Clubsport variant – only one rung down from the full-fledged R. That automobile, revealed ultimately 12 months’s race, gets a tuned version of the venerable 2.0 litre EA888 turbo four-cylinder that sends 300 PS and 400 Nm of torque to the front wheels via seven-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission.
So equipped, the Clubsport gets from zero to 100 km/h in only 5.6 seconds – three tenths of a second quicker than the regular Mk8.5 – plus a better 267 km/h top speed with the Race package equipped. There are also greater brakes and a Nürburgring-tuned “Special” drive mode, together with aggressive exterior modifications and black graphics.
By the way in which, the golden jubilee Grand Touring Injection will not be to be confused with last 12 months’s bog-standard Edition 50 that celebrated 50 years of the regular Golf, nor the locally-developed model based on the Mk8 GTI. That automobile was equipped with an Oettinger bodykit, recent wheels and interior bits from the worldwide Edition 50.
Except for the brand new model, Volkswagen will even display its latest range of Golf R models on the Green Hell, including the Variant wagon and the Black Edition.
GALLERY: 2024 Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50 in Malaysia
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This Article First Appeared At paultan.org
