The Golf GTI Clubsport has done its fair share of heavy lifting over the past few years. The standard Mk8 GTI missed the mark somewhat (living up to the Mk7.5 was never going to be easy), and it was the role of the Clubsport to bring back some magic. The recently-revealed Mk8.5 should provide a better baseline for the hot hatch icon going forward, and now Volkswagen has announced a new and improved Clubsport to run alongside it.
Announced on the eve of the Nurburgring 24 Hours, the Clubsport delivers a predictably decent step up in performance over the standard GTI. VW had already upped peak power from its tried and true 2.0-litre turbo four by 20hp on the base GTI for the eighth gen’s mid-lift refresh; now the Clubsport lifts that figure up to a nice round 300hp via tweaks to the engine management, boost pressure and ‘other internal measures’. While that’s 35hp more than the standard GTI, the output is identical to the pre-update Mk8 Clubsport, as is the 295lb ft torque figure - and it’s still 10hp down on the brilliant Clubsport S.
Does that mean VW’s leaving room for another S-badged derivative in the future? Who knows, but as the manual gearbox and three-door model has been banished from the new GTI lineup it’d surely be a very different prospect. Not that the previous Clubsport was offered with a stick anyway, so the single seven-speed DSG option was all but inevitable. Ditto the 5.6-second 0-62mph time, which is 0.3 seconds quicker than the base GTI but an exact match for the old Clubsport. There is however an optional Race package - once exclusive to the Clubsport 45 special edition - which allows you to hit the hatch’s 166mph top speed on a stretch of autobahn without a limiter getting in the way. An Akrapovic sports exhaust also comes bundled in for added overrun crackle.
Aside from familiar performance figures, there are some more tangible differences beneath the skin. Alongside the four standard driver profiles (Eco, Comfort, Sport and Individual) is a new Clubsport-specific ‘Special’ mode, which adjusts the dampers and e-diff to suit the undulations of the Nurburgring. Moreover, the Clubsport gets its own setup for the Vehicle Dynamics Manager, which handles the e-diff, dampers and stability control, for a more ‘performance-oriented application’. VW has also made tweaks to the system that should be noticeable across both the standard GTI and Clubsport, namely a more responsive front end and ‘superior high-speed performance.’
The previous Clubsport added some much-needed edge to the standard GTI, and the 8.5 is clearly styled to do the same job. The most obvious change is the sharper front end, with swept-back elements to the front strakes, and what appears to be a deeper splitter. There’s a more pronounced spoiler at the rear, and while the standard 18-inch, diamond-cut ‘Richmond’ wheels don’t differ much from the standard GTI, VW has developed a new 19-inch ‘Warmenau’ rim specifically for the Clubsport. Alternatively, you can go for the ultra-cool, Mk5-inspired ‘Queenstown’ wheels in the same size.
The interior meanwhile is largely the same as the standard GTI, albeit with posher sports seats in VW’s suede-like ‘ArtVelours’ (leather and carbon trim are available as optional extras). And of course there’s the Mk8.5’s new infotainment system which the company says now packs more computing power. Mercifully, the Clubsport carries over the GTI’s new steering wheel design virtually unchanged, meaning proper physical buttons in place of the old car’s vague touch controls. Huzzah!
Alongside the new Clubsport, VW revealed a one-off GTI Clubsport 24h race car that’ll compete in this weekend’s N24. The Clubsport 24h takes the 2.0-litre engine to new heights with a 348hp output and will undoubtedly stick to the Green Hell like a limpet with DTM-esque wings. It’ll compete in the AT3 class for alternative fuels, as it’ll apparently run on bioethanol, and wear the number 50 to mark the Golf’s 50th anniversary.
While there are no plans to take the car racing beyond its N24 showing (VW has a very on-again-off-again relationship with motorsport), it won’t be long until orders open for the road-going GTI Clubsport. VW has previously said the new Mk8.5 will arrive in the second half of this year, which should mean Clubsport sales will follow shortly after. News on prices and UK spec when we have it.
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