Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk8.5 to get 50th anniversary special, reveal at Nürburgring 24 Hours in June

The progenitor of the hot hatch genre, the Volkswagen Golf GTI hits the half-century mark next year, and Wolfsburg is celebrating the milestone with a 50th anniversary special edition of the Mk8.5 this June. That date wasn’t picked at random – it coincides with the Nürburgring 24 Hours from June 19 to 22, where race versions of the car will aim to secure a second successive class victory.

Not much was revealed in the press release, but Autocar expects the commemorative model to be based on the most potent Clubsport variant – just one rung down from the full-fledged R. That car, revealed at last year’s race, gets a tuned version of the venerable 2.0 litre EA888 turbo four-cylinder that sends 300 PS and 400 Nm of torque to the front wheels via seven-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission.

So equipped, the Clubsport gets from zero to 100 km/h in just 5.6 seconds – three tenths of a second quicker than the regular Mk8.5 – plus a higher 267 km/h top speed with the Race package equipped. There are also bigger brakes and a Nürburgring-tuned “Special” drive mode, along with aggressive exterior modifications and black graphics.

By the way, the golden jubilee Grand Touring Injection is not to be confused with last year’s bog-standard Edition 50 that celebrated 50 years of the regular Golf, nor the locally-developed model based on the Mk8 GTI. That car was equipped with an Oettinger bodykit, new wheels and interior bits from the global Edition 50.

Aside from the new model, Volkswagen will also display its latest range of Golf R models at the Green Hell, including the Variant wagon and the Black Edition.

GALLERY: 2024 Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50 in Malaysia

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