An all-new Volkswagen Golf GTI has been unveiled, and it celebrates half a century of the long-lasting scorching hatch. Say hey to the Version 50.
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The Giugiaro-penned hatchback was given a sporty remedy precisely half a century in the past. To have a good time this, the German automaker has revealed the Version 50. It would solely debut formally on 20 June 2025 on the Nürburgring 24-hour race however it has already the brand new GTI has already etched its identify into the file books because the quickest road-legal Volkswagen to ever lap the famed Nordschleife.
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Behind the wheel for the file run was racing driver Benny Leuchter, a long-time growth collaborator with Volkswagen, who clocked a blistering 7:46.13 across the 20.8 km circuit. This time makes the EDITION 50 not simply probably the most highly effective manufacturing GTI but, but additionally the model’s benchmark for front-wheel drive efficiency. Whereas the fiftieth birthday of the GTI will formally be marked in 2026—coinciding with the market launch of the brand new mannequin—the social gathering has clearly began early.
The record-setting automobile was a near-production prototype fitted with the optionally available Efficiency package deal, which features a specifically tuned chassis, ultra-lightweight 19-inch solid wheels, and Bridgestone Potenza Race semi-slick tyres developed particularly for the mannequin. The discount in unsprung and rotating mass performed a big position within the automobile’s dynamic talents on the difficult circuit, in accordance with Leuchter.
Volkswagen’s motorsport legacy with the GTI is lengthy and storied, however this newest chapter underlines how far the platform has developed. Leuchter’s reward for the EDITION 50 was emphatic, noting the automobile’s precision, cornering stability and skill to absorb the Nordschleife’s infamous floor undulations. Regardless of less-than-ideal climate circumstances through the file try, the GTI’s poise and grip allowed it to keep up astonishing tempo throughout the lap.
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For context, Leuchter beforehand set a file of seven:49.21 within the front-wheel drive Golf GTI Clubsport S in 2016, and adopted that up with a 7:47.31 within the all-wheel drive Golf R 20 Years in 2022. The brand new GTI EDITION 50 not solely surpassed each, however would have gone even faster had the lap timing not included the total T13 part, which was omitted in earlier runs. A timing evaluation from the on-board footage suggests a comparable time of seven:41.27—an much more telling show of the automobile’s functionality.
Till it goes on sale in 2026, the Golf GTI EDITION 50 might be listed as a “Pre-Sequence Mannequin” within the Nürburgring’s official database. However the message is already loud and clear: Volkswagen’s front-wheel drive hero shouldn’t be solely nonetheless related, it’s rewriting the foundations on what’s attainable from a scorching hatch.
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