Exclusivity and more power for less money, it’s a Golf GTI Clubsport with a different name.
Volkswagen Australia has announced, probably with some excitement, that they will be bringing in the 40th anniversary edition of the Golf GTI starting in June 2016.
This Golf GTI 40 Years edition is due to be sold in within our shores, as it a special edition, in limited numbers and would be available to order from now. The world got its first glimpses of the car at the 2015’s annual Worthersee gathering, meant to be an homage to the Golf GTI’s history since the 1975 Mark I Golf GTI was introduced at the ’75 Frankfurt Motor Show.
Notably, the Golf that will be known here as the GTI 40 Years edition, is currently being offered in Europe/North America under the moniker of GTI Clubsport, but since Clubsport is already a name synonymous with HSV, they had make some necessary tweaks.
Nevertheless, Australia is getting a special edition Golf GTI which comes with a lot of kit seen in the Golf GTI Performance, including a shared 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, but tuned to deliver 195kW (a 33kW jump over the standard GTI and 26kW over the GTI Performance) and 350Nm of torque.
That power figure can be raised using a 10-second overboost function to 213kW and 380Nm initiated using kickdown, which in those circumstances outpaces the Golf R’s 206kW and 380Nm which this special edition GTI slots just under.
The Golf R still holds the throne as the most dynamically endowed hot hatch from Volkswagen however, with its all-wheel drive traction helping it attain a 5.0-second run from zip to 100km/h. The front-drive GTI 40 Years edition takes 5.9 seconds.
At a price of $48,990 (plus on-road costs), the GTI 40 Years edition presents itself as a pretty good value proposition since it offers very similar typical performance to the Golf R (which is $4000 more expensive) and in 10-second bursts even more so, while costing just $2500 over the standard Golf GTI.
Standard kit on the GTI 40 years edition include adaptive suspension, larger brakes, front differential lock, unique 19-inch alloy wheels – all of which we’ve seen offered on the GTI Performance.
To make the GTI 40 Years edition that much more distinctive, it will come with a bespoke bodykit that features a new front bumper design with larger air intakes and a two-piece rear roof spoiler that does make a meaningful impact on downforce. Furthermore, the car comes in a choice of traditional tornado red and pure white for the exterior paint, another nod to the original Mark I Golf GTI.
Inside, occupants are treated to a unique anniversary ‘honeycomb’ seat upholstery with decorative GTI inlays and a steering wheel covered in Alcantara to match the door trim insert material.
Pretty much every optional extra worth its salt has already been fitted to the GTI 40 Years edition, leaving the only thing you can spec for your it would be the panoramic electric glass sunroof for an extra $1,850.
