Volkswagen Golf R Plus hyper-hatch for Oz

The fastest and most powerful Volkswagen Golf ever built – a 300kW-plus Mercedes-AMG A 45 rival – is all but certain to be offered in Australia.

Powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine fitted with a mammoth turbocharger and intercooler, the Volkswagen Golf R ‘Plus’ is tipped to punch out at least 300kW and 450Nm.

Thanks to all-wheel drive and a strengthened dual-clutch automatic transmission, the new German hyper-hatch -- which will slot in above the 213kW Volkswagen Golf R should dispatch the 0-100km/h sprint in less than four seconds on its way to a top speed of around 280km/h.

Although it’s not expected to make its debut until at least 2021 -- after the all-new eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf on which it’s based arrives Down Under later than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020 -- Volkswagen Australia's head of product marketing Jeff Shafer told carsales.com.au there would be strong demand for the cheek-rippling, tyre-frying 300kW Golf R in this country.

"You would definitely have a good look at the market but I think they could definitely sell here. We could find some space for such a high-performance car," he said.

With cars like the circa-$80,000 Audi RS 3 and Mercedes-AMG A 45 finding favour with plenty of Aussies, the high-performance boffins at Volkswagen want to get in on the act with their own mega-hatch.

The ballistic 295kW Golf R400 concept was first shown in 2014 and went through several development stages. Nevertheless, it was kyboshed for the current seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf as dieselgate gobbled up precious R&D budget.

"Even when that concept was shown, we had customers contacting dealers asking if they could place a deposit," said Shafer.

An even more extreme and advanced 300kW version of the hot hatch, which may be called the Golf R Plus, will blast out of the blocks for the upcoming eighth-generation Golf in due course. If it snaffles the latest 48-volt mild-hybrid tech, its power output could conceivably go beyond 300kW.

An arrival date for the red-hot VW Golf R Plus has not yet been confirmed for Australia or elsewhere, and the local importer would not confirm or deny a ballpark price tag of about $80,000, either.

"I certainly wouldn’t speculate on a price point," said Shafer.

"What I would say is that we always have a really strong uptake on our performance cars, whether that's Polo GTI, Golf GTI, Golf R or even the bigger engined SUVs and those kinds of cars."

Australians buy more Golf Rs than any other country except for Germany and UK, mirroring this market’s ravenous appetite for high-performance machinery of all types, such as the Renault Megane RS hot hatch, BMW M3 sedan or Mercedes C 63 coupe.

"We've always been strong with R sales too, so that gives us a good voice when it comes to [new] R models,” said Shafer.

“Volkswagen [in Germany] has a good understanding that Australians love performance cars. If there was another high-performance version…”

As it stands, the first of the new Volkswagen Golf 8 models won't begin arriving in Australia until October or November of 2020 -- a delay of around two months believed to be caused by integrating next-generation technologies.

The new VW Golf will always be online, it will have plethora of screens including a new digital instrument display and will be fitted with cutting-edge safety features.

As the German car-maker's top-selling car both in Australia on globally, the vehicle is of crucial importance to the brand.

While car enthusiasts and hot hatch fans will have to wait until after the new Golf arrives in about 18 months to experience a 300kW punch, the raucous front-drive Golf GTI TCR is expected to be the seventh-generation model's hot hatch swansong.

The limited-edition Volkswagen Golf TCR will leverage the reputation of the motorsport-ready racing version (pictured), which has already won a race in the inaugural Australian TCR series, and is essentially a front-drive version of the 213kW Golf R.

"We're aiming for 300 cars, which to my understanding is a large allocation of the global tally," said Shafer of the VW Golf GTI TCR.

"We'll have it as a pretty compelling offering," he added, hinting that it could undercut the $57,190 Golf R.