How much horsepower does the new R get?
Volkswagen is celebrating 50 years of Golf this year with the updated Golf 8. All but one version of the Golf 8.5 has already been unveiled, except for the Golf R. VW will release it in March, but it is already prominently present in blue packaging at the GP Ice Race where he even takes action on the icy track. Although the first GTI was only shown in 1975 and came onto the market in 1976, various fast Golfs for the street and in rallying play a role in this classic party.
The Volkswagen Golf has not been as successful in rallying as the Ford Escort or the Lancia Delta. The Escort played an important role in that branch of motorsport in the 1970s, again in the 1990s as RS Cosworth. The Lancia Delta enjoyed rally successes in the 1990s as the Integrale. And the Gulf? In 1980 there was the so-called Piersburg Golf, a rally car based on the Golf 1 GTI 16 S Oettinger that participated in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1980. It had 190 hp in rally trim. Volkswagen itself never made a version with a 16V head of the Golf I GTI, which only came from the Golf II GTI, but the German tuner Oettinger did build a Golf I GTI 16v, or 16S like that, in collaboration with the French Volkswagen importer. called in France. That stands for 16 soupapesthe French word for valves.
Golf Rallye: built 5,000 times
The Rallye of the Golf II appeared. The extended Golf with a different front appeared on the market in an edition of 5,000 copies. This was necessary to be able to homologate it for participation in the World Rally Championship. The Rallye Golf received the G60 engine, the spiral-compressor engine that also ended up in the Volkswagen Corrado. The engine had 160 hp and the Rallye always had Synchro four-wheel drive. In this video you see a Rallye Golf from the Volkswagen Classic collection and that is an extra special Rallye because it has the power source of the Golf Limited. This means that the G60 engine has the 16V cylinder head, and therefore produces 210 hp instead of 160 hp. 71 Golfs Limited were made with that power source, Volkswagen Motorsport also made 12 of those engines for the upgraded Rallye.
Golf R32 and then Golf R
The party in the Austrian ‘snow’ will of course also include the discussion of the first Golf R, the Golf IV R32, which in 2003 was the most powerful Golf since the Limited and had a 241 hp VR6 on board. In combination with 4Motion all-wheel drive, it is the biggest Golf ever when it comes to cylinders and engine sound. Another fifth-generation Golf R32 appeared and then the Golf R received a four-cylinder turbo. To this day, in the form of the Golf 8.5 R that will be unveiled in March 2024.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl