Power hike for Volkswagen Golf GTI and R

Volkswagen's engineers are turning up the wick for the Golf R all-wheel drive hot hatch.

But it may not be enough, with peak power for the Golf R in series 7.5 rising to 228kW – which is still a long way short of the Ford Focus RS – and the Golf R output for Australia will be more like 213kW anyway, we're told. That, 7kW more than the current car, is still a step back from the full-cream 228kW output of the car in Europe, due to our climactic conditions.

Backing up the Golf R is a more powerful Golf GTI and the Golf GTI Performance option. In the standard Golf GTI peak power rises to 169kW – currently the same number as for the GTI Performance Pack, which will rise to 180kW.

The Golf GTI will launch in Australia around the end of July, less than a month after the mainstream Golf 7.5 range.

Speaking with Australian journalists in the lead-up to the international launch of the upgraded Golf, Public Relations Manager Kurt McGuiness explained that Volkswagen Australia is “still working on a [Golf R] wagon, but not in the first round launch.”

The Golf R in the 7.5 generation will be launched alongside the GTI in Australia, but based on the VW spokesman's words, the Golf R wagon will not arrive until significantly later – if at all – and possibly with a three-door version, if that variant should tick all the product planning boxes to get a green light for the local market.

Chances of the three-door Golf R making it to Australia are significantly improved with the end of the Scirocco as part of the local product portfolio.

“There is always interest in expanding our performance line-up,” McGuiness cautiously replied to a question concerning the three-door version of Golf R.

According to McGuiness, there may be some stock of Scirocco remaining available, but Volkswagen Australia is not importing any new shipments of the lift-back coupe.

“One of the things that we have considered – and it's something that we are looking at – is the fact that we've done away with the Scirocco.

“We didn't offer it in Golf [R three-door] before, because we had a three-door coupe in the Scirocco. We don't have that now.”

Not only has Volkswagen Australia ceased importing the car, but production of the Golf 6-based Scirocco is shortly to end, says McGuiness, which could be very good news for fans of the three-door Golf.