RE: VW readies new Golf GTI Clubsport for N24 debut

[Adenauer]

IMI A said:

I've done quite a few miles in Mk 7 GTI PP, Mk 7 GTI CS S and Mk 8 R.

If I was buying a Golf today I'd personally find a very low miles Mk 7 or 7.5 GTI. Would not need to be a clubsport the ride too fidgety on UK roads compared to vanilla GTI. The only thing I'd want is the performance pack which gives you the trick front diff and also adaptive damping.

I have just bought Mrs Adenauer a low mileage Golf 7 GTI Performance and registered it yesterday.

Took it for a spin yesterday afternoon, what a fantastic car, I used to have a Golf 2 GTI as my Nürburgring track car and this thing is ridiculously powerful by comparison. It made me feel 20 years younger and I had to put it back in the garage quickly for risk of getting myself locked up.

[epom]

aka_kerrly said:

gary-tznge said:

Yawnnnn !!,,, another Golf that looks the same as every other Golf VW has released in the last ten years.

Your post will make a lot of people yawn too, I assume you say the same about a Porsche 911

It was a poor effort overall, lazy even, just like the VW Golf. No mention of how much for a Golf ? No mention of PCP, no mention of weight, no mention of a 1997 Civic Type R being a better drive.

[Baldchap]

epom said:

It was a poor effort overall, lazy even, just like the VW Golf. No mention of how much for a Golf ? No mention of PCP, no mention of weight, no mention of a 1997 Civic Type R being a better drive.

If you'd had 'rented' and 'Keighley' you'd have a full house, I think.

[WPA]

Seen many mk1's over the years, this is lovely

[benjidog]

Tramping anyone? It's pretty bad on a MK7 Gti TCR.

[IMI A]

Adenauer said:

IMI A said:

I've done quite a few miles in Mk 7 GTI PP, Mk 7 GTI CS S and Mk 8 R.

If I was buying a Golf today I'd personally find a very low miles Mk 7 or 7.5 GTI. Would not need to be a clubsport the ride too fidgety on UK roads compared to vanilla GTI. The only thing I'd want is the performance pack which gives you the trick front diff and also adaptive damping.

I have just bought Mrs Adenauer a low mileage Golf 7 GTI Performance and registered it yesterday.

Took it for a spin yesterday afternoon, what a fantastic car, I used to have a Golf 2 GTI as my Nürburgring track car and this thing is ridiculously powerful by comparison. It made me feel 20 years younger and I had to put it back in the garage quickly for risk of getting myself locked up.

Agree 100%. Stick some Michelin PS4S tyres on and you can be even more naughty they're so grippy. Over the years I've heard people on these forums say a Mk 7 GTI isn't all that quick. For me a to b a mk 7 GTI one of the quickest and most secure cars I've ever driven cross country. I genuinely feel the Mk 8 is two steps backwards on so many levels.

[CG2020UK]

IMI A said:

Agree 100%. Stick some Michelin PS4S tyres on and you can be even more naughty they're so grippy. Over the years I've heard people on these forums say a Mk 7 GTI isn't all that quick. For me a to b a mk 7 GTI one of the quickest and most secure cars I've ever driven cross country. I genuinely feel the Mk 8 is two steps backwards on so many levels.

The sum of the parts of the GTI Mk7 means it all just works brilliantly together

[Olivera]

IMI A said:

I genuinely feel the Mk 8 is two steps backwards on so many levels.

I've owned both and I feel the Mk8 is incrementally better in almost every respect: stiffer chassis with better turn in, more power, better seats, externally looks better (subjective I admit), a more modern interior, more equipment, better brakes and so on. Minuses are no rotary controls for the air-con, other than that with the latest over the air updates the infotainment is good.

[markdenton]

Yawn…

[_ppan]

Dat mk1

markdenton said:

Yawn…

Maybe go to bed?

[Iceblue]

Always liked the hot Golfs having owned a Mk.7 GTI and a 7.5R give this Clubsport 350bhp and I might be tempted when I come to trade my RS38Y

[RSstuff]

Didn't SEAT use the suspension from the Golf Clubsport and the awd from the Golf R, for the 345 bhp Leon Cupra R ST Abt? VW really should put out a 400 bhp Golf if they want to grab some headlines.

[Ahonen]

Article said:

So it’s going to be a big weekend for VW at the Nurburgring next weekend. As well as the reveal of the most powerful front-drive production Golf and a new race car, there’s going to be three Mk1s taking place in the 24-hour itself. Quite the way to mark a 50th birthday.

No Mk1 Golfs will compete in the 24 Hour this week - you shouldn't skim read press releases. Three will be in the classic support race, as you can see in the press release here: https://www.vwpress.co.uk/en-gb/releases/5139

VW Press Release said:

Three GTIs in the ADAC 24h Classic race. Before the main race, three first-generation classic Golf GTIs will create a fantastic atmosphere among visitors to the Eifel track at the ADAC 24h Classic. All three cars will start in the KWL Motorsport team, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2024. 45 years of KWL, 50 years of Golf – a perfect double anniversary on the Nordschleife. The team from Burscheid will enter a legendary Golf GTI 16S Oettinger (Group 4) from 1981 that has an output of 208 PS. Just as legendary: a 1978 Golf GTI Kamei (Group 2) with 183 PS. The third classic model is wrapped in the GTI camouflage design (with the ‘50 years of Golf’ logo): a 1980 Golf GTI from Group 2 with an output of 184 PS.

[J4CKO]

119 said:

aka_kerrly said:

I like the Clubsport concept of being lighter a bit tighter and more driver focussed whilst sticking to fwd.

However, much like with Porsche , having less parts but higher quality comes at quite a significant cost!!

119 said:

Would like to see how it’s going to get all that throihh the front wheels.

I thought they put 4WD on the r to help traction?

Jeez this over and over again, a throttle is not an on/off switch it is certainly possible to deal with 350hp and considerably more in fwd if you moderate your inputs.

It's no different to saying how can you drive a 350hp rwd car without spinning it .... better driving, or more often than not relying on advanced tyres and very clever traction control systems.

No I get that absolutely. But I would think pressing on would keep traction control busy?

I don’t know as I have never driven one!

My car has circa 315 bhp, its a Fiesta and its really not a problem, sure you can spin the wheels but its really not as unruly as you may expect.

Its not like the old days where 150 bhp was considered the limit for FWD, and anything that powerful turned into a scrabbly mess.

I get that its not ideal but so many cars are FWD nowadays it would rule out so many platforms if you didnt tune FWD stuff as well as AWD and RWD.


Companies have got much better at the suspension design and geometry to allow bigger power through the front wheels.

Tyre tech has improved, im on PS5's and they work really well.

I have a limited slip differential, that was a game changer for traction, obviously you still only have two driven wheels but it does make best use of them.

Mapping, in the past turbos tended to be a bit on/off, so you tended to end up with a big balloon of torque arriving at the front wheels, then you break traction and then have to regain it, where nowadays torque is held back on a per gear basis and held at a nominal threshold of what they feel the frotn wheels will hold, on a dry day without breaking traction.

I went from the standard setup with some bolt ons, still on the oem turbocharger, with around 240 bhp to the hybrid and traction actually improved, I think as the turbo spins faster they dont have to maximise the output of a small turbo that runs out of flow at 6500 rpm, thus creating that balloon of torque, they have then more scope to produce power across a bigger rpm range and bring it in more gradually, making it more like an N/A engine, still obviously very much turbocharged but with more scope to map out the early surge of torque and deploy it gradually so as not to overwhelm the tyres, peak torque isnt actually any higher. Its funny as you can have an impression of what a car is like to drive and then it actually is quite different.

Then you have the electronics that will apply the brakes to tame the worst out.

On a dry track with warm tyres, the only way I could generate wheelspin/understeer was to stamp on the throttle at low ish speed out of a slow corner/hairpin in second and you would get little bit and then it would grip and go.





Suspect VW will have nailed this.

[IMI A]

Olivera said:

IMI A said:

I genuinely feel the Mk 8 is two steps backwards on so many levels.

I've owned both and I feel the Mk8 is incrementally better in almost every respect: stiffer chassis with better turn in, more power, better seats, externally looks better (subjective I admit), a more modern interior, more equipment, better brakes and so on. Minuses are no rotary controls for the air-con, other than that with the latest over the air updates the infotainment is good.

I'm glad you like yours VW must be doing lots of mkt research before releasing 8 but sadly for me its a complete fail on the interior. Seats are fine but Mk7 GTI seats better for me. Heater vents too low. Infotainment with no buttons needs scrapping! Haptics on steering wheel too easily engaged by mistake. Swathes of cheap plastics at £50k-£60k with options at this price point are unacceptable. Noisy rear diff. Rattles. You must be dialled into yours noticing the stiffer chassis and better turn in on road but in terms of the seating position and driving dynamics I agree 8 better than the 7 and so it should be for the money. MPG in 8R poor compared to Mk7 GTI. I like the 8R but do not love it like the 7 GTI. Will swap the 8 to a Civic R at some point. The 7 GTI is a keeper my daughter passed her test last year and loves it. What a first car!