This year, Volkswagen celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Golf. Although the Golf GTI didn’t come out until June 1976, Volkswagen is using this year’s Nürburgring 24-hour race to honor the original Golf and the latest GTI. But there’s more to it than just a birthday. Eight VW workers secretly created the first GTI away from the main company. When Volkswagen approved it for production, they only planned to make 5,000 units, just enough to qualify for racing at the time. But they ended up selling almost 500,000 of the first model, and over 2 million GTIs in total.
In 2016, VW introduced the first GTI Clubsport, a car between the GTI Performance and Golf R. Then, in 2021, they updated the Clubsport.
Now, they’re revealing the latest Clubsport during the 2024 Nürburgring 24-hour race. The previous model from 2021 had 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. This new one is promised to be the most powerful front-wheel-drive Golf. It will have a new front end, illuminated VW logo, updated LED headlights, a big hatch spoiler, and 19-inch wheels.
They’ll offer a lighter forged 19-inch wheel option called Warmenau. The drivers will get a new leather-wrapped steering wheel and a special driving profile for the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
There will also be Golf cars on the track. One is a custom Golf GTI Clubsport 24h with 343 hp, driven by Benny Leuchter and Johan Kristoffersson. Three vintage GTIs will race in the ADAC 24h Classic: a 1978 Golf GTI Kamel, a 1980 Golf GTI Group 2, and a 1981 Golf GTI 16S Oettinger.
We’ll learn more about the production GTI Clubsport soon. But don’t expect it to come to the United States, as many German Clubsport models don’t make it here.
