- This new VW Golf GTI has a more aggressive front fascia than the standard model.
- The hot hatch is expected to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Golf.
- VW may also bump up horsepower and torque from the car’s 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder.
Volkswagen has teased an upcoming version of the perennially popular Golf GTI, set to debut at the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race on May 31.
The German carmaker’s CEO, Thomas Schafer, shared a teaser of the new hot hatch on LinkedIn. Although the video has been pixelated to obscure the car, we catch glimpses of it cruising around the Green Hell and tackling the Carousel, the circuit’s most renowned corner.
Read: 2025 VW Golf GTI Drops Manual But Gains More Muscle And AI Smarts
Little is known about the Golf in this teaser. Halfway through, we’re provided with our best opportunity to see the model. It clearly has a different front bumper to the 2025 Golf GTI unveiled a few months ago and includes sharper and more aggressive air intake shrouds. The teaser ends with text reading ’50 Years of Golf,’ leading to speculation that this model could be dubbed the ‘Edition 50’.
For the Golf’s 45th birthday, VW launched the GTI Clubsport 45 with some new aerodynamic appendages. It’s possible the Golf GTI in this teaser could be quite similar.
The MK8.5 Golf GTI was revealed in late January and is available exclusively with a seven-speed DSG transmission, meaning a six-speed manual is no longer on offer. The car’s 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder has been modified to now produce 261 hp in Europe but horsepower and torque figures for the U.S. model haven’t been announced.
If the new Golf GTI variant is indeed a Clubsport version, it could pack even more grunt. The old Golf GTI Clubsport 45 delivered 292 hp and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque, and it’s plausible that this new model could produce over 300 hp. It’s also possible that VW will chase front-wheel drive glory at the Nurburgring and attempt to set a new production FWD car lap record around the circuit, a crown that the Mk7 Golf GTI Clubsport S once held.
