Volkswagen R

UPDATE, October 31: The 2021 Volkswagen Golf R has been teased once again, this time with the previously spied R badge – a new design, although revealed already with recent R and R-Line models – displayed in its new home beneath the VW roundel. As noted below, the new Golf R will be revealed on November 4, so watch for all details to be revealed next week. UPDATE, September 17: The 2021 Volkswagen Golf R has been teased ahead of the model's unveiling on November 4, 2020.

UPDATE, November 27: Volkswagen has handed down a new set of Arteon and Arteon Shooting Brake photos this week, as part of its UK-market launch. We've added those pictures to the gallery for this story (click any photo here to access the gallery), which is otherwise unchanged and focused mostly on the R models. Watch for more on the Arteon's Australian launch in early 2021, and keep your fingers crossed for that Shooting Brake variant.

Volkswagen’s upcoming Arteon R has left the snow-covered roads of Sweden and begun testing on Germany’s iconic Nurburgring racetrack. The latest prototype caught by our spy photography partners wears similar levels of camouflage to the example snapped in Scandinavia in February, merely sporting some deceptive tape and white panelling to cover badges, trim pieces and alter the appearance of the front air intakes and rear bumper.

Volkswagen Australia is currently offering 2018 model-year Golf R hatches and wagons with a $3000 factory bonus for a limited time. Following the recent announcement of drive-away pricing for the front-wheel drive Golf GTI, the German manufacturer has introduced a new offer on its flagship all-wheel drive performance duo, available until March 31.

Volkswagen set a new record at the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb a whole month ago, but onboard footage of Romain Dumas' full run in the I.D. R is only just surfacing. The all-electric racer annihilated Sebastien Loeb's record up the famous Colorado course, completing it in just 7:57.148 – and apparently it could have gone faster, had the high-altitude hillclimb not been cloaked in soupy fog.