The all-new Volkswagen Golf R was originally scheduled to make its world debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which has been cancelled, but we'll still see it this week for the first time when the all-wheel drive hot hatch makes its online global premiere on Friday (July 10).
In the meantime, for your viewing pleasure, here's what the new performance flagship of the upcoming Volkswagen Golf 8 hatch range will look like.
These latest spy shots from near the German giant's test centre in Austria reveal the new Volkswagen Golf R won’t rock the boat in terms of exterior design, maintaining the current model’s wolf-in-sheep's-clothing 'street sleeper' image.
Except for one area – the rear-end. Based on these latest photos, the 2021 Volkswagen Golf R looks set to benefit from a significantly larger roof spoiler with central strut, while the rear bumper will also be more aggressively styled by featuring motorsport-inspired air scoops.
At the front, the Volkswagen Golf R maintains a subtle (for a hot hatch) fascia that doesn’t present any particularly wild flourishes or styling cues, sticking to its predecessors' neat angles and lines.
More pronounced side skirts, larger alloy wheels, bigger brakes and lower suspension are the other Golf R hallmarks in evidence, in addition to the all-new body panels and front and rear lights from the new Volkswagen Golf 8.
As leaked documentation from January revealed, the new Volkswagen Golf R will generate 245kW from its 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, at least in Europe. That's up from 213kW for the current model (and 221kW in Europe).
Volkswagen had been working on a 300kW Golf R400 to take on the Mercedes-AMG A 45 but it was apparently kyboshed a few years ago.
It’s not yet clear how much torque the new Golf R will produce as standard, but given the existing model offers 380Nm and the likes of the new Ford Focus ST and upcoming Mazda3 Turbo all-wheel drive both pump out 420Nm of torque, VW will need to bring its A-game.
Given Volkswagen has had plenty of time to hone the new Golf R at the Nurburgring, it's safe to assume the new model will be a more capable hot hatch in terms of dynamics too.
The new Volkswagen Golf R is expected to retain many of the elements that have made it the hot hatch benchmark, including an even higher-quality interior and a no-expense-spared equipment list including sports seats.
As the interior photo shows, the leather-lined German hottie will also get a significant uptick in technology and infotainment, which comprises two large digital screens.
For reference, the current Volkswagen Golf R delivers 213kW/380Nm via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and 4MOTION all-wheel drive, resulting in a 4.8-second 0-100km/h acceleration time.
A six-speed manual should return with the new model, in which the dual-clutch (DSG) automatic gearbox will continue.
The new Mk8 Volkswagen Golf -- including the GTI -- will arrive Down Under later than expected in early 2021, followed by the new Golf R later next year.