Volkswagen Launches Its Four Most Powerful Golf Models in UK, They're All Mighty Expensive

Back in June, Volkswagen finally revealed the 2025 Golf R and Golf R Estate (station wagon) after a lengthy teasing campaign and an even lengthier spy photography adventure. They arrived with muscular looks and more power – the hot hatch and sporty wagon also get added technology features. Naturally, now it's time to start making the regional launch rounds.

This chapter is about the UK market, where no less than four Golf models arrive with sporty ambitions and right-hand drive. Of course, as the company rightfully says, the "four new trims – the Golf GTI Clubsport, R, R Estate and R Black Edition – include some of the most powerful production cars Volkswagen currently produces." All of them can be ordered starting August 8 across nationwide retailers, and the prices are both steep and climbing.

So, the fresh Golf GTI Clubsport starts from £41,655 (on-the-road recommended retail price, including VAT), which is the equivalent of almost $53k at the current exchange rates. You get the 300-ps (296 hp) Golf GTI Clubsport just a few weeks after its gala unveiling at a Nürburgring-based motorsport event and packs bespoke design elements such as the Clubsport front bumper and honeycomb air-intake grille, animated LED taillights, plus 18-inch Richmond alloy wheels.

Under the hood, the 2.0-liter turbo TSI is combined with the classic seven-speed direct-shift gearbox (DSG) to enable a sprint to 62 mph (100 kph) in 5.6 seconds and a maximum speed of 155 mph (250 kph). Moving on, the new Golf R and Golf R Estate have a DCC adaptive chassis control system, exclusive equipment, and 4Motion all-wheel drive with R-Performance Torque Vectoring. There's 333 ps (328 hp) under the hood, as well as an optional 167-mph (269 kph) top speed when selecting the available R-Performance package.

Pricing starts from £43,320 and £44,685 for the Golf R and the station wagon version, respectively, which translates to $55k and almost $57k, respectively. It's going to be interesting to see the MSRP for the US-specific Golf R; the pre-facelift version kicks off at a much lower $45,665, by the way. Last but not least, there's also a Golf R Black Edition complementing the performance lineup. It has the same performance cues – TSI with 333 ps, seven-speed DSG, and 4Motion AWD, but adorns them with dark exterior touches (including on the badges and brake calipers), black 19-inch Estoril alloy wheels, darkened IQ.Light LED matrix headlights and a big roof spoiler. The price starts at £44,570, which is the equivalent of $56,589 at the current exchange rate.