Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport concept previews anniversary edition
Fresh images of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport concept have been released, giving us our clearest idea yet of what to expect from the 40th anniversary Golf GTI special edition that’s set to be released in 2016.
Today’s images come less than 48 hours after Volkswagen initially released a pair of design sketches of the Golf GTI Clubsport concept, which is making its debut at this week’s Worthersee festival in Austria.
Building on Volkswagen’s popular Mk7 Golf GTI, the Clubsport concept adds a unique sports body kit with triangular lower front air intakes, aggressive 19-inch alloy wheels, and chrome exhaust outlets either side of the reworked rear bumper.
Additional air intakes with black blades inject more muscle to the front, while a matching black lower front splitter, mirror caps, lower side graphics, roof spoiler and rear diffuser create a more sinister exterior impression.
It’s understood the Clubsport concept gives a good idea of what to expect design-wise when the Golf GTI 40th anniversary special edition production model hits global showrooms next year – naturally, 40 years after the original Golf GTI debuted in 1976.
The three-door Clubsport concept produces 195kW from its uprated 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, and an overboost function allows it to temporarily pump out 214kW for short bursts of hard acceleration.
Those figures leave it just shy of the 221kW of the all-wheel-drive Golf R (though marginally ahead of Australia’s 206kW ‘hot-weather’ tune), and well clear of the regular Golf GTI and more hardcore GTI Performance (162kW and 169kW respectively).
Volkswagen is yet to release performance claims for the Clubsport, but its 26-45kW advantage over the GTI Performance should see it shave some time off that car’s 6.4-second 0-100km/h sprint.
The Volkswagen Golf GTI 40th anniversary edition has been confirmed to go on sale in the UK in 2016.
It’s unclear at this stage if the anniversary model will be made available in Australia.
Volkswagen Australia offered the most recent anniversary model, the Golf GTI Edition 35, which was priced from $43,490 plus on-road costs. The current GTI Performance costs $48,490, while the Golf R starts at $52,740.
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