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Carsales Staff27 Apr 2015
NEWS

Volkswagen's 300kW Golf is go

VW powertrain boss confirms mad Golf R 400 hyper-hatch is coming soon

If you thought the hot hatch power war was over, think again. Volkswagen has committed to building a hard-core version of the Golf R that will belt out around 300kW of power.

Not five years ago this sort of power was the reserve of large-displacement V8s, but clearly Volkswagen is confident its best-selling car, the Golf, can handle the steroidal power boost.

Volkswagen Group powertrain boss Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser told the UK's CAR magazine that the hottest ever VW Golf is already in development, and will likely be called the Golf R 400 – the 400 designating its horsepower output.

"We have the Golf more sporty than ever before, since we soon will have the Golf R400. We will do this car," he told CAR. "We are in fact in development of it right now."

The Golf R 400 was first shown as a concept study at the 2014 Beijing motor show, but clearly Volkswagen is not content to let the likes of Ford's upcoming 235kW Focus RS bathe in the limelight.

The Golf R 400 concept was claimed to do the 0-100km/h acceleration benchmark in 3.9 seconds thanks to its 295kW/450Nm output, and according to CAR the production version could develop as much as 309kW.

Neusser didn't say exactly how much power or torque the new model will extract from its highly-strung 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder, but there's a chance it will be scaled back to around 250kW – both to make it suitable for everyday use and leave room for VW premium brand Audi.

Indeed, if the 309kW Audi TT quattro Sport concept is any guide, the first VW Group vehicle to offer more than 300kW from the EA888 engine block is likely to be an Audi, not a Volkswagen.

That said, as we've reported, Audi has said the RS version of its new TT will come with more than 300kW, from a more powerful version of the 270kW/465Nm 2.5-litre inline five-cylinder turbo-petrol engine in the new RS 3, which out-powers the 265kW/450Nm Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG.

Either way, the '400', or whatever the showroom version will be called, will develop an enormous amount of power for a four-cylinder, making it significantly quicker than the existing Golf R, which produces 206kW/380Nm in Australia and sprints to 100km/h in five seconds.

The new Golf R 400 will take advantage of the same (Haldex 5) AWD system, but its increased power should see it shave several tenths from the time — perhaps to around the 4.5 second mark — without being quicker than Audi's RS 3 (4.3 seconds) or upcoming TT RS, which could be capable of hitting 100km/h in less than four seconds.

Other changes over the Golf R will likely include more assertive and aerodynamic body work, tweaked suspension with adjustable dampers, stronger brakes to mitigate the increased pace and possibly a bimodal exhaust system that cranks up the volume via a button on the steering wheel.

It's unclear when the new model will arrive but with development already under way, we could get a preview of the vehicle at the Frankfurt show in September, before sales begin next year.

Australian deliveries are almost certain considering the market's appetite for performance cars and particularly hot Golfs, but it's unknown whether the same 'hot climate' ECU tune that reduced our Golf R's output from 221kW will apply to the Golf 400.

Where Volkswagen will position its most ferocious Golf ever is anyone's guess, given the Golf R costs $52,740 plus ORCs, Audi's 210kW/380Nm S3 starts at $61,100 and the new RS 3 will arrive in October at around $80,000.

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Written byCarsales Staff
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