Volkswagen marks four decades of Golf GTI with a special uprated version of the hot hatch-and blows the production FWD Nurburgring lap record wide open in the process.
THE LIGHTWEIGHT NEW 2016 VW Golf Gti Clubsport S has surpassed the Nordshleife lap time set by the Honda Civic Type R last year, with a blistering 7min 49.21sec flier. VW claims that, as a result, the Clubsport S is the quickest production FWD car yet to lap the Nordscleife.
Driving the 265 kph Golf was 28-year-old German racing driver benny Leuchter, who was on hand at the announcement at the 2016 Worthersee VW festival in Austria.
This is a track-ready two-seater Golf and just 400 will be made worldwide, all individually numbered.
It’s on a significant diet to strip out unnecessary weight: there are no rear seats at all, the battery is smaller, there’s less sound deadening and fripperies such as parcel shelf, floor mats and even bonnet clampers are junked. The front subframe is aluminium, too.
End result? It’s 30kg lighter than the Golf Clubsport. There’s Nordschleife setting which arms the Dynamic Chassis Control, steering, exhaust and throttle to maximum attack, while the brakes are upgraded to cope with the extra thrust on offer.
Only three colours are available, all referencing the original launch palette back in 1976: Tornado Red, Pure White and Deep Black Pearl Effect. Anoraks take note-the roof of production versions will always be painted black.
It’s said to sound great, too; with a 10mm wider exhaust, VW claims a significant improvement in aural treats including some pop-bang wizardry when downshifting.
The Clubsport S means the evergreen Golf range continues to grow apace. It is faster than the all-wheel-drive Golf Rand and looks set to be the pinnacle of the range-at least until the long-awaited R420 arrives, assuming it survives the Dieselgate scandal cuts…
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