The 164mph VW Golf GTI TCR Is The Clubsport Successor We've Been Waiting For

There’s a new top dog coming to the Golf GTI range, and it looks extremely promising. It’s called the Golf GTI TCR - riffing off the customer racing car of the same name - and its 2.0-litre inline-four will shove 286bhp to the front wheels only via VW Group’s ‘VAQ’ electronic locking differential.

Sound familiar? That’s because the spec mirrors that of the Golf GTI Clubsport - albeit with the 286bhp output made constantly, and not as part of an overboost feature. The Clubsport was the Golf GTI’s 40th-anniversary special, so we weren’t expecting a successor to arrive before the Mk7 Golf is replaced. Until recent rumours suggested otherwise, however, and now we’re here.

Unlike the Clubsport, the TCR won’t necessarily be held back by a 155mph electronic limiter. If you want, you’ll be able to remove the buffers entirely, giving a 164mph top speed.

The press release only mentions a standard-fit DSG automatic gearbox, and from what VW UK tells us, there probably won’t be a manual. We won’t know for sure until final specs are confirmed, so keep your fingers crossed.

The car will be revealed in full at the huge Worthersee GTI Treffen meet on 9 May, ahead of a launch nearer the end of 2018.