WATCH | Say hello to the fiery new VW Golf GTI Clubsport

Volkswagen on Friday revealed its new GTI Clubsport at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Unveiled by legendary German race car driver Hans-Joachim Stuck, this apex hot-hatchback stands out from its lesser siblings courtesy of revamped (and standard) LED Plus headlights, an illuminated VW logo, redesigned tail light clusters and a large roof spoiler. 

The GTI Clubsport rides on a new set of 19-inch “Queenstown” alloy wheels featuring a striking design of five oval semicircles; a nod to the classic Detroit wheel introduced for the fifth-generation Golf GTI. Buyers can also specify optional 19-inch Warmenau forged wheels. Weighing 8kg each, they reduce unsprung mass and optimise performance. 

In the cabin you can look forward to a newly developed multifunction leather sports steering wheel and updated infotainment system, which Volkswagen claims is “extremely intuitive and ensures that the driver can concentrate even better on the road ahead”. Other goodies include the marque's latest voice assistant IDA with Chat GPT integration.

Performance is fiery with the firm's 2.0l four-cylinder turbocharged EA888 engine tuned to deliver 221kW and 400Nm of torque. Sent to the front wheels via an electronically controlled front differential lock, Volkswagen claims the GTI Clubsport will sprint from 0-100 km/h in 5.6 seconds and reach an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h. Spec the optional Race package and the Wolfsburg manufacturer will increase this 267km/h.

Another highlight of the GTI Clubsport is the new Special driving profile that tailors the car's systems to suit the characteristics of the Nürburgring Nordschleife. To compensate for the undulations typical of this fearsome circuit, maximum performance is achieved by means of a specific vertical set-up of the (optional) DCC adaptive chassis control and a modified lateral dynamics set-up of the fitted-as-standard Vehicle Dynamics Manager.