New VW GTI Clubsport coming to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Golf
Volkswagen is preparing a new generation of golf GTI Club sports performance model, the cover will be released on 5/31.
The debut will take place on the sidelines of the 2024 Nürburgring 24-hour race, which kicks off the next day, with a modified version built for the race known as Golf GTI Club Sport 24h competing.
The last Golf GTI Club sport was launched in 1976 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the arrival of the first GTI in 2021. The latest version is based on the updated 20 Golf GTI, which celebrates the 5025 anniversary of this year's golf nameplate and is expected to reach the showroom later this year.
Do not expect the Clubsport version to reach these shores as the last one had never reached the United States.However, for local buyers who want more performance than what the updated Golf GTI offers, VW has an updated Golf R debuting in the summer. Like the updated GTI, it should reach the US for 2025.
Clubsport differs from the standard GTI via a new front fascia with a simplified design. The VW logo on the front is also on for the first time, and some tweaks are also present inside the lights on both ends. VW also plans to offer a variety of 19-inch wheel designs that are specific to the model. The wheels are built units that weigh only 17 pounds each.
VW said that Clubsport also has a special drive mode developed to sculpt the Nürburgring. It controls the suspension and steering, and is specially tuned to handle the ups and curves of German racetracks, the automaker said.
VW doesn't mention anything about the powertrain, but the last GTI Clubsport delivered 2.0 horsepower from the GTI's 296-litre turbo-4, all sent to the front wheels. The updated 2025GTI has been announced in other markets at 262 hp, and it is possible that the new Clubsport version will have even more power than its predecessor. The GTI Clubsport24h race car features a 343-horsepower setting on the engine.
However, this will be helped by a new E20 fuel developed by Shell with a 20% ethanol content, and the race car defended by Max Kruse Racing will be used during the 24 hours of the Nürburgring.
