For those who thought that the gap between the Golf GTI and range-topping Golf R range could potentially be bridged, it seems Volkswagen has something up its sleeve. A potentially racier version of the venerable GTI has been spotted lurking around the company’s Nürburgring facility.
Unofficially dubbed the Club Sport, a conspicuous red Golf wearing kit clearly distinguishing it from the GTI and R was first photographed near the Nordschleife, then later spotted completing a lap of the legendary circuit.
The differences in design come courtesy of a slightly lowered ride height, a more prominent front spoiler and massive rear wing. The alloy wheels on this test mule look as though they’ve been lifted from previous generation Scirocco R. The track-focused approach could be enhanced with a stiffer suspension set-up, more stopping power and, significantly, less weight.
The Club Sport is also wearing German tuning firm Wiechers Sport’s stickers, a tactic known to try and dummy spy photographers into thinking the subject is just a mule for for Wiechers’ racing and performance parts. According to Autoblog, the same decals were seen on early prototypes of the third-generation Scirocco R when it was in development.
But Volkswagen AG also likes to cause a splash at lake Wörthersee in Austria, where enthusiasts of all things Volkswagen Group gather annually. It’s looks very likely that we could see the Club Sport make its debut at this event in May.
Sources: Autoevolution and Autoblog
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