SPY PICS: VW's 2017 Golf R spotted testing

Volkswagen's facelifted 2017 Golf R has been spotted testing for the first time – in wagon guise, accompanied by the current Golf R.

Apart from the grille, front spoiler and headlights, the Golf R was undisguised. Of course, those are the bits of a facelifted car everyone wants to see...

It's the presence of the current Golf R that makes these pictures so interesting. Hopefully this means that work has been done underneath the skin of the new R to make it even more potent. The label on the rear ('Bremsversuch') suggests the new car is undergoing brake testing, which makes sense in alpine terrain.

With competitors such as the new Focus RS and updated Mercedes-AMG A 45 both developing comfortably more than 250kW, (257kW for the Focus and a whopping 280kW for the A 45) the engineers at VW will surely need to bump up the power output of the current R's 206kW (221kW in Europe).

Apart from probable power gains and a different front-end, the R's likely to also introduce an upgraded infotainment system, with some automotive publications positing that gesture control will be among the features.

There has been no confirmation from VW as to when the new Golf R will be released or how much it will cost. However, it will most likely arrive in the first half of next year and prices should remain in the same vicinity as the current model.