2017 Volkswagen GTI Clubsport S in, Golf R400 reportedly out
The powered-up Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport, which is on its way to Australia as the GTI 40 Years Edition, will soon be outclassed by an even more powerful special.
The new limited-edition model will be known as the GTI Clubsport S, and fans will get their first look at the annual Wörthersee GTI-Treffen (“meeting”) in Austria next month.
The ‘regular’ three-door GTI Clubsport benefits from a special tune that brings its power up from 162 to a new 195kW, and that same figure will be on tap for Australia’s ‘GTI 40 Years’ five-door version (UK version pictured). A new boost function ups numbers briefly to 213kW and 380Nm.
That’s a fairly impressive leap, but volkswagen says its newest special will push past “the 300PS barrier”, or 221kW. That number rivals the European specification of the all-wheel-drive Golf R.
A specific output for the Clubsport S is still to be confirmed, however, and it’s unclear if the promised barrier-breaking number will be the standard max or a boost-only effort.
The car maker is also yet to confirm if we’ll see the Clubsport S in Australia - perhaps as a GTI 40 Years S, or simply with the Clubsport S badge. CarAdvice has contacted Volkswagen Australia for word.
That’s the good news. Now for the bad news: according to industry journal Automotive News, the promised Golf R400 project has been binned.
It is already known that Volkswagen’s controversial “diesel issue” would see a number of projects cancelled or postponed while the car maker works to cover the costs of repairs and buybacks, and the hotted-up Golf R special now looks to be among them.
The special was first teased as a 294kW concept two years ago, and a production schedule was confirmed last year by the now former chief of powertrain development, Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser.
Neusser was among those forced to step down after the ‘dieselgate’ news broke.
Automotive News reports that the extra-hot hatch’s powered-up EA888 engine project is still being developed, however, with a view to planting it in future Audi models.
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