Volkswagen Golf R 20 Years is the fastest all-paw Golf yet
Who would’ve thought the most powerful production Golf to date would be one of the fastest yet around the Nurburgring?The 2022 Volkswagen Golf R 20 Years is officially the fastest Golf R ever to lap the Nurburgring, stopping the clock in 7:47.31 minutes – about four seconds faster than the standard R.
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the 20 Years packs an extra 10kW/20Nm over its donor vehicle, is programmed with a bespoke ECU tune for sharper throttle response and comes with the R-Performance package, Driving Dynamics Manager and R-Performance Torque Vectoring as standard.
Save for the extra grunt and more aggressive tune, it’s the usually optional R-Performance package that delivers the Golf R 20 Years its biggest performance advantage (out of the box) over the standard car, by upping the speed-limiter from 250 to 270km/h and introducing an extra ‘Special’ drive mode tailored specifically for the Green Hell.
Said drive mode houses a unique combination of suspension, transmission, throttle and steering characteristics as well as a bespoke set-up for the all-wheel drive and torque vectoring systems.
The car was piloted by touring car racer and Volkswagen R development driver Benjamin Leuchter, who also helped mould the Special drive mode.
“With this car, I can drive here on the Nürburgring and the next stop is then the baker’s or the DIY store,” he said.
“The vehicle is really an all-rounder that can do everything.”
Volkswagen Group Australia has already confirmed the Golf R 20 Years will arrive by the end of September, however, we’re to see or hear how many examples will be available in Australia.
It’s practically a given that it will be the most expensive Golf R and therefore Golf variant in the entire local portfolio, a title current held by the $68,990 Golf R Wagon.
With this in mind, we’d anticipate an asking price somewhere in the low $70,000 range.
However, while the 20 Years is undoubtedly the fastest production Golf R (and current Golf 8) around the Nurburgring, it isn’t quite the fastest factory Golf to ever lap the famous German road course.
That honour goes to the Mk7 Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S, which back in 2016 fired off a 7:47.19 lap – 0.12sec quicker than the 20 Years.
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