The eagerly-awaited Golf 8 R packs no less than 235 kW and 420 Nm of torque from its 2.0-litre turbopetrol engine, making it the powerful production Golf ever. The new Golf R will make use of a 7-speed DSG and a Haldex-type all-wheel-drive system and an updated torque vectoring system to ensure brisk acceleration and grippy handling ability. 

Fitted with a new Engine Control Unit (ECU), outputs of the ABT Golf R increase significantly to 286 kW and 470 Nm of torque. The standard Golf R claims a zero to 100 kph sprint time of 4.7 seconds (which is 0.1 secs slower than its predecessor) and even though the ABT hasn’t divulged how fast its tuned Golf R is, a zero to 100 kph time of around 4.0-4.3 secs is conceivable. Other ABT additions to the beefed-up Golf R include gloss black alloy wheels and black livery seen on the C-pillars. The tuner is also developing a new exhaust system for the Golf R as well suspension upgrades.

You can therefore expect to see many more tuned iterations of the new Golf R to come in the future. The local arrival of the new Volkswagen Golf 8 R is earmarked for the end of 2021 but early 2022 is also a possibility. We will keep you updated as soon as local specifications and pricing details for the VW Golf R become available.