Volkswagen has a party to celebrate: this year it is 45 years ago that the first generation of the Golf GTI came on the market. That is why the curtain is being drawn on a special anniversary version of the current Golf GTI Clubsport: the GTI Clubsport 45.
Earlier this week, the Clubsport 45 appeared on leaked images, but now it’s official. The party issue is based on the 300 hp Golf GTI Clubsport. From the outside, it can be recognized by a black roof with a matching black rear spoiler, which must be a nod to the black frame of the rear window of the first GTI. In addition, you can recognize the Clubsport 45 by the striping with the relevant number at the bottom of the doors and the black 19-inch multi-spoke wheels with a red rim. In the interior, the GTI lettering is printed on the back of the seats and there is a small ’45’ at the bottom of the steering wheel to remind you that you are on the road with a special model.
From a technical point of view, the Clubsport 45 hardly differs from the regular Clubsport. That means that under the hood is the same 2.0 TSI with 300 hp and 400 Nm of torque, which launches the hot hatchback to 100 km / h in less than 6 seconds. The GTI Clubsport also has improved brakes and the air intakes in the front bumper are larger than is the case with the regular GTI. What sets the Clubsport 45 apart is the ‘Race package’, which includes a sports exhaust and a removal of the speed limiter. Volkswagen does not mention how fast the Clubsport 45 is now running, but it is quite possible that it will go towards 270 km / h.
Also for the Netherlands?
The first GTI Clubsport was launched in 2016 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the GTI MkI. In the same year, the GTI Clubsport S came on the market, which with 310 hp was even more powerful than the Golf R. It would not be surprising if a Clubsport S of the current Golf GTI was also planned, but Volkswagen has that. nothing officially announced yet. It is not known how many copies of the Clubsport 45 Volkswagen will build. It is delivered in ‘selected European countries’, but inquiries with Volkswagen Netherlands show that it is not yet clear whether it will also come to the Netherlands. The price of the anniversary model in Germany is in any case EUR 47,790. Compared to the regular Clubsport, this is an additional cost of more than € 6,500.