Porsche-baiting Golf R 400 will be strictly limited

Volkswagen has all but confirmed its most ferocious hatchback ever – the circa-300kW Golf R 400 concept – will indeed enter production, but a new report by French website l'Automobile Sportive claims it will be based on the facelifted Mk7 Golf due by 2017.

Quoting unnamed sources at Volkswagen, the report says the production Golf R 400 will be built in strictly limited numbers and priced above Europe's hottest all-wheel drive hatches, including its own sister model from Audi, the upcoming RS 3 Sportback, and the Mercedes-AMG A 45 (from $75,800).

Justifying its steep admission price, however, is not only the fact it will be more exclusive, but that the super-Golf will be more powerful, with the UK's CAR magazine claiming it could produce as much as 309kW, eclipsing the concept's car's 295kW/450Nm outputs.

Indeed, Volkswagen revealed the performance potential of its EA888 engine block with the 309kW Audi TT quattro Sport concept at this year's Geneva motor show.

When it was revealed at the 2014 Beijing show, in the 40th anniversary year of the popular German small car, Volkswagen said the Golf R 400's 2.0-litre TSI turbo-petrol engine would propel it to 100km/h in a supercar-like 3.9 seconds.

With a specific power output of about 150kW or 200hp per litre, the four-cylinder engine in the Golf R 400 (for 400hp, or 298kW) eclipses both the RS 3's 270kW/465Nm 2.5-litre turbo-five and the 280kW/475Nm engine in the upgraded AMG A 45 — the world's most powerful four-cylinder.

It will also be quicker than Audi's and Mercedes' finest hot hatches, with the RS 3 claimed to hit 100km/h in 4.3 seconds and the upcoming 2016 A 45 lowering its figure to 4.2 seconds – although the even hotter A 45 S leaked last month could slam down 294kW and undercut the four-second mark to 100km/h.

As it stands, the 1420kg concept car – which weighs 56kg less than the standard Golf R and a whole 135kg less than the A 45 – has a better power-to-weight ratio than the hottest Benz hatch.

Volkswagen Group powertrain boss Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser told CAR in April the hard-core Golf – which was spotted undergoing Nurburgring testing in May and appeared at last month's Goodwood Festival of Speed is already in development.

"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."

In its effort to upstage more natural rivals like Ford's upcoming Focus RS, the Golf R 400 will employ a part-time Haldex 5-based 4MOTION all-wheel drive system with XDS+ diffs at both ends, plus a host of suspension, steering and other chassis tweaks, including a 20mm lower ride height, adjustable dampers, 19-inch alloys and bigger brakes.

There could also be a bimodal exhaust system that cranks up the volume via a button on the steering wheel, to go with the gearshifters that operate the standard six-speed dual-clutch automatic (not manual) transmission.

Using the concept as a guide, the production R 400 will feature carbon racing seats in the sportiest Golf cabin ever offered, and a beefed-up body kit comprising wider wheel-arches, 40mm-wider bumpers and plenty of carbon-fibre, including a gloss black roof, mirror caps and bold tailgate wing.

While the hottest production Golf will be quicker than a non-turbo Porsche 911 and the concept came with a 320km/h speedo, it remains to be seen whether VW sees fit to remove its 250km/h speed limiter.

But the big question is will the Golf R 400 be produced in right-hand drive for markets like Australia and, if so, how many will be available at what price – and will our 'hot climate' status limit its power output in the same way the regular Golf R's peak power is nobbled from 221 to 206kW?