Say hello to Volkswagen’s new Golf 8 R with 235 kW

Volkswagen has officially pulled back the covers off its most powerful Golf ever in its R glory.

Under the new Golf 8 R lurks a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine with 235 kW of oomph and 420 Nm of torque.

All that amount of power is sent to all four-wheels via standard 4Motion all-wheel-drive system that is said to be different from that one that lurks in the outgoing Golf 7 R.

The new 4Motion system distributes power between axles and can send up to 100% of torque to the outside wheel using a dedicated Drift Mode feature.

There are other modes such as Race, Sport, Comfort and Individual.

Overseas buyers will have the option to have the new Volkswagen Golf R in manual guise while a seven-speed DSG transmission will be offered as an option.

In South Africa, we expect the Golf 8 R to be available only with the DSG transmission.

According to Volkswagen, the new Golf 8 R dashes from a standstill to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds before hitting the limiter at 250 km/h.

The new Golf 8 R sits 20 mm lower than the outgoing model and Volkswagen says it is 10% stiffer than its predecessor.

On the outside, it gets an aggressive stance that comes courtesy of a new front bumper that incorporates motorsport-inspired splitter, R-specific air intake grilles, and gloss black treatment.

It runs on 19-inch alloy wheels as standard.

Inside, the interior looks similar to the one that is found in the Golf 8 GTI.

There is a 10.0-inch touchscreen, Digital Cockpit with a virtual instrument cluster as well as R logos splashed throughout the cabin.

The new Volkswagen Golf 8 R is expected to launch in South Africa in the last quarter of 2021 or early 2022.

Source: Volkswagen