Golf 8.5 R will farewell the combustion engine in lieu of the incoming Mk 9 Golf being an EV. Image: Volkswagen
With little having emerged since the last teaser showing in January, Volkswagen’s R division has released more images of the Golf 8.5 R.
Likely to be the final addition to the revised Golf 8.5 range, the R will retain the 4Motion all-wheel-drive system and seven-speed DSG, the latter now an exclusive as a result of the six-speed manual certain markets had access to, being obsolete.
The final combustion encore for the R Wolfsburg confirmed in 2022 will be going full electric before 2030, a single image of the R’s grille on its official Facebook page doesn’t provide much aesthetic detail, but does quote an output of 333 pferdestarke(PS), which amounts to 245 kW.
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Reported back in 2020 as possibly being the output of a Golf 7 or 7.5-based version called the R Plus, the figure mirrors that of the United States-only Golf 8 R 333 introduced last year, as well as the anniversary 20 Years Edition unveiled two years ago.
As such, the 8.5 R, which will again be offered as a five-door hatch and in Europe, as a Variant estate, will develop 10 kW more than the outgoing Golf 8 R, but expectedly, the same 420 Nm of torque.
The similarities with the R 333 and 20 Years Edition is anticipated to go further in the performance figures, namely a limited top speed of 270 km/h and 0-100 km/h in 4.6 seconds. For the moment though, no announcement confirming this has been made.
Officially set to become the most powerful combustion engine Golf ever made in readiness for the all-electric Mk 9 reportedly due in 2026, the 8.5 R will carryover the same interior changes as the Golf 8.5 in the form of revised materials, the 10.2-inch Digital Cockpit Pro digital instrument cluster and the 12.9-inch infotainment system with the latest MIB4 software and integrated ChatGPT.
Taking up station above the 8.5 GTI Clubsport introduced last month, the R will make its reported unveiling in exactly two weeks from today, 26 June, although chances are that a final round of select detail divulging could happen before then.
As with the Golf 8.5 however, an announcement confirming the 8.5 R for South Africa remains outstanding.
Reveal date information by carsales.com.au.
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