Watch: Volkswagen Golf R 20 Years Is Nearly The Fastest Golf To Ever Lap The Nurburgring

The Volkswagen Golf R has long been one of the quickest hot hatches on the market, and the new Golf R 20 Years takes the performance to a whole new level as the most powerful production Golf ever created. The special-edition Golf has now been put through its paces around the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife, and it’s officially the fastest R-badged VW to ever lap the circuit. Below, you can watch the onboard lap.

Built to commemorate two decades since the arrival of the Golf R32, the Golf R 20 Years comes with a host of performance upgrades over the standard current-generation Golf R. But how much faster is it, exactly? The Golf R 20 Years clocked an official lap time of 7:47:31, which is more than four seconds faster than the standard car. Except, the two-seat Golf GTI Clubsport S beat that by over a tenth of a second nearly six years ago, so it’s not quite the ‘fastest Golf ever’. Awkward.

The upgrades begin under the bonnet, with the turbocharged 2-litre four-cylinder engine now producing 328bhp, a 12bhp increase over the standard Golf R. Tweaks to the car’s turbocharger improves the engine’s responsiveness, while a new “Emotional Start” function produces an aggressive 2,500rpm blast of revs at startup, nicely amplified by the Akrapovic exhaust system. Further tweaks have been made to the vehicle’s software, enabling snappier and more responsive shifts from the seven-speed DSG gearbox. As a result, an improvement over the standard Golf R’s 4.7 seconds 0-62mph time is likely, though there’s no official confirmation.

The new Golf R 20 Years now sits on standard-fit 19-inch wheels, which can be painted in a unique Lapiz Blue shade and wrapped in optional Michelin Cup 2 tyres. You’ll notice bespoke “R 20” badging scattered across the car‘s rear bumper and door pillar, while a sleek application of carbon fibre has been applied to the car’s interior dashboard to remind you you’re driving something special. The Mk8’s £2,050 R Performance Pack now features as standard, adding an eye-catching rear wing and raising the electronic speed limiter from 155mph to 167mph.

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Prices and final UK specifications are yet to be confirmed but expect the Golf R 20 Years to start from more than £50,000 ($62,534.50). Production numbers aren’t likely to be limited, but Volkswagen has confirmed it will stop producing this upgraded Golf R variant in the middle of 2023.