It didn’t take long for Volkswagen AG to follow yesterday’s teased Golf 7 R image with a reveal of the actual car.
Riding 5 mm lower than the current GTI, the Golf R will feature a suitably more aggressive body kit, including revised bumpers, side skirts, rear diffuser, smoked LED taillamps and chromed quad tailpipes. 18-inch alloy wheels are listed as standard fitment.
Scheduled to be unveiled at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the new Golf R is powered by a 221 kW/380 N.m turbocharged 2,0-litre engine. The R upgrade of this unit features a new cylinder head, exhaust valves, valve seats and springs, turbocharger, high-pressure injection, valves and pistons.
Available with either a six-speed manual or dual-clutch DSG transmission the new Golf R features all-wheel drive 4Motion via a fifth-generation Haldex coupling. Volkswagen is claiming a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 5,1 seconds for the manual shifter, while the DSG version is said to dip just below the five-second mark.
With South Africa ranking as one of the best-selling markets for the previous-generation Golf R, it’ll reach our shores in the first half of 2014.
