With the all-new Golf GTI, GTD And GTE petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid hot hatches unveiled, Volkswagen can now concentrate its efforts on bringing the 2021 Golf R to the market.

The company’s hottest hatchback will be a proper driver’s car, according to the R division’s chief, Jost Capito. He confirmed to MotorTrend that the AWD hot hatch won’t go down the mild- or full-hybrid route.

“I can’t tell you too much [about the new Golf R], what we put in the car, but there is a lot of small improvements. The overall car [is] a real driving machine”, said Capito. “[R] can’t develop [its] own hybrid systems, because the volumes for [the Golf R] are too small”, he added. As a result, the 2021 Golf R will stay true to the ICE, unlike the new 455 HP Touareg R PHEV, which shares many components with the Bentley Bentayga Hybrid.

Read Also: There’s A New VW Golf R Mk8 Coming, So We Drove The Old One For A Week

While enthusiasts shouldn’t hold their breath for a small electric boost, the new Golf R will feature “technology [that] nobody expects”, added Volkswagen R’s chief, without disclosing anything about it. Elsewhere, it will carry over with a turbocharged four-pot under the hood, four-wheel drive and a dual-clutch automatic transmission in between. There is no way of knowing whether the six-speed manual transmission has a future in the company’s range-topping compact car.

Word has it that the 2021 Golf R will feature an updated version of the 2.0-liter turbo-four, making 333 PS (328 HP / 245 kW). Assuming that the output is correct, that represents a 23 PS (23 HP / 17 kW) boost over its predecessor from the pre-WLTP era. Alongside other mods, the power gain will slash a few tenths of a second from the current model’s 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 4.6 seconds. The outgoing Golf R has a maximum speed of 270 km/h (168 mph) when equipped with the optional Performance Pack.

The unveiling date of the car is scheduled for this summer, likely at the 2020 Goodwood Festival of Speed. However, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the new Golf R could be delayed. Mind you, we could see it in an official presentation before the end of the year.

2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”
2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”
2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”
2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”
2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”
2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”
2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”
2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”
2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”
2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”
2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”
2021 VW Golf R Says No To Electrification, Will Be “A Real Driving Machine”