Volkswagen Golf R in line for Aussie power upgrade

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story erroneously stated that Volkswagen Australia would discontinue the Golf R wagon for 2019. It has since been confirmed the Golf R wagon will be offered locally, however Volkswagen has chosen to delete the Grid edition Golf R wagon.

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Australian Volkswagen enthusiasts stand to gain from a power upgrade to the Golf R in the face of newly imposed restrictions in Europe.

Australian-designated versions of the German hot hatch currently run a lower 213kW state of tune compared with 228kW other markets, due to our hot weather climate.

But that could soon change, according to a spokesman for the brand.

“As a company, we’re engaged in trying to change our market’s hot climate designation,” said Volkswagen Australia’s Paul Pottinger said.

It follows news overnight that European versions of the Golf R will be de-restricted to a still-enviable 220kW (down from 228kW) because of changes forced by the new global emissions testing regime.

To comply with the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), Volkswagen will reportedly fit the Golf R’s 2.0-litre turbo-four engine with a more restrictive exhaust system.

According to Autocar, the changes will pare the Golf R’s power back, from 228kW to 220kW.

While Australia does not yet enforce WLTP — which uses real-world testing rather than the lab-based process of the outgoing New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) — the lower state of tune would likely be shared with the Australian market if the hot climate designation were overlooked.

“In the context of new homologations, there are adaptions for the exhaust gas treatment and for the power output. From now on, all Golf R models will feature a 300PS [296bhp] engine,” a VW spokesman told the British publication.

The de-tune procedure will affect cars currently on order in Europe, according to Volkswagen. The car-maker will contact those waiting on their builds to notify them of the changes.

The 2019 Golf R line-up will be trimmed down in Australia, with Volkswagen culling the manual transmission offering due to low demand, and deleting the Grid version of the wagon. The regular Golf R wagon will continue to be offered.

The front-driven Golf GTI has likewise had its manual transmission deleted, but now benefits from a higher 180kW/370Nm state of tune.