Volkswagen Golf R Plus takes shape

VW has issued a darkened teaser image on social media of a higher-performance version of its Mk8 Volkswagen Golf that could be the long-anticipated new 2022 Volkswagen Golf R Plus.

As the German brand prepares to launch the new Golf R in Australia in the coming months, the Volkswagen Group in Europe is now preparing to unveil another model that looks set to crown the performance stable of the Golf range, which already comprises the GTD, GTE, GTI, GTI Club Sport and the R.

Posted to the global Volkswagen Instagram and Facebook pages, the single image shows the unmistakeable silhouette of a Mk8 Volkswagen Golf performance car – pronounced roof spoiler being the main giveaway – and was accompanied by the caption: “We’re launching an NFT (Notably Fast Transporter). Coming February 2022.”

The NFT reference looks to be a play on words and marketing spin more so than any real intent by Volkswagen to offer cryptographic non-fungible tokens that became hugely popular in 2021.

With a claimed 0-100km/h time of 4.7 seconds, the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R is already a decidedly quick car, so the emergence of an ‘NFT’ version should see the benchmark sprint lowered to at least 4.5sec.

The existence of an even faster Golf above the R was uncovered some 11 months ago in a UK owner’s manual, which listed a mystery high-performance variant packing 245kW – 10kW more than the regular Mk8 R.

Such a car would give Volkswagen something of a niche product among the current crop of Euro hot hatches given it would extend the R’s performance advantage over the Audi S3, Mercedes-AMG A 35 and BMW M135i xDrive while still being shy of the ballistic Mercedes-AMG A 45 S and Audi RS 3.

Happily, we won’t have to wait too long to see this mystery vehicle given the covers are coming off next month.