Volkswagen has decided to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Golf R with the addition of a brand-new engine under its hood.
Since its creation, the Volkswagen Golf R has been offered with several different powertrains, including the legendary VR6 with its biblical soundtrack in the R32 version. In recent years, however, the German automaker’s hot hatch has essentially shared the same engine as the GTI. That’s not necessarily a problem, since the Golf R is more powerful and comes with standard all-wheel drive, unlike the GTI.
Five Cylinders
All signs point to Volkswagen having prepared something very special to mark the Golf R’s 25th anniversary. Rumor has it that engineers have decided to fit it with the same engine as the Audi RS3—a 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder. This powertrain delivers 401 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque, but that’s not even its most impressive trait. What makes it truly special is the sound. The howl of a five-cylinder engine is very different from that of a four- or six-cylinder, and this new acoustic signature could give the Golf R even more character.
From what we know so far, this engine should also be paired with the seven-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission, along with standard all-wheel drive.
The addition of this new powertrain in the Golf R should also lead to other upgrades, particularly in the braking system and suspension.
As of now, the Volkswagen Golf R is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. That engine produces 328 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque, which is already quite impressive. It allows the hatchback to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in under 4.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 270 km/h. By comparison, the Audi RS3 manages the 0–100 km/h in less than 3.6 seconds—a full second quicker than the Golf R, which is a huge gap. We can therefore expect similar performance from the new Golf R 25th Anniversary edition.
An Anticipated Success
We don’t yet know when Volkswagen plans to launch the 2027 Golf R, nor its pricing, but it’s safe to say that demand will be sky-high. In fact, don’t be surprised if all allocations sell out within days—or even hours—of its debut.
Jean-Sébastien Poudrier
