Set to arrive in 2023 as the most powerful production Golf ever made, a new report from Australia has shed more light on Volkswagen’s forthcoming Golf R Plus.
While it remains to be seen whether Wolfsburg would in fact keep the moniker in question, Wheels has indicated that the step-up model from the recently spotted ‘standard’ R will produce in the region of 300 kW and therefore take aim at the 310 kW Mercedes-AMG A45 S.
Eclipsing the alleged 257 kW claimed by Britain’s Car Magazine in February, the Australian publication has hinted that electrical assistance could feature on the R Plus after R division boss, Jost Capito, confirmed to motoring.com.au that costs and volumes had played in a significant part in the decision not to make the ‘regular’ R a hybrid model.
A project allegedly supported by Volkswagen Group Chairman Herbert Diess, who reversed the original plan for a electrically assistant version of the GTI, the R Plus, based on Wheels’ claims, has not yet been signed off officially despite the interest shown, with Volkswagen Australia going a step further by expressing surprise at the project when quizzed.
With the planned use of sister brand Audi’s 2.5 TFSI engine having been ruled out by Ingolstadt, and with the implementation of more stringent emissions regulations in Europe next year demanding an average fleet output of 95g/km, chances are that the R Plus could join the GTE in offering electrical assistance for certain when it does become a reality
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