Volkswagen is saying farewell to their 7th generation with the Golf GTI TCR. Inspired by the sports car with the same name, VW is making it a limited edition. With only 300 models in South Africa and each with their own unique number, it will make a great collector’s piece too.
Still a 7th gen Golf but even more GTI TCR.
The whole body of this car has been given the TCR treatment and it looks really good. There are no unnecessarily large elements to shout sporty at you and yet it still gives off that air of ‘I’m the superior Golf’. In South Africa we will get a 5-door version with the choice of three colours; Pure white, Pure grey and Tornado red. Talking about colour, the mirror caps are all a sporty matte black and so are the 19-inch alloy wheels.
Around the front of the car are very nicely designed LED headlights with red trim that runs across the front of the car. At the sides, there are TCR honeycomb decals to complete the VW Golf GTI TCR.
Inside, the Golf GTI TRC gets even better.
The first thing you notice inside this car is the seats and the materials. It’s definitely a step up from before with Alcantara sports seats and the same material on the door inserts and gear lever. It’s all black with red details and stitching everywhere, even on the new sports steering wheel.
With a 12-inch infotainment screen and VW’s We Connect Go and DataPlug, you can stay connected to your car from inside and out. To the thanks of some of the Golf fans that were upset about the 8th generation not having physical buttons on the centre console, the GTI TCR has all the physical buttons you could want.
The Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR also gets climatronic air-conditioning and red ambient light to increase the mood. The interior is also lit up by a panoramic sunroof. 
Enough about looks, let’s see what VW say this sports car can do.
Packed with a turbocharged 2-litre petrol engine, the GTI TCR packs 312 kW and 380 Nm through the front wheels. Which is a lot more powerful than before. Volkswagen says this car can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.6 seconds and get to tops speeds of 264 km/h which is very quick for a Golf.
All GTI TCRs are front-wheel-drive and have a 6-speed manual dual-clutch transmission. There are also other standard features like Dynamic Chassis Control, parking assist and perforated disc brakes.
When can you get one and what is the price?
Expected to launch in July 2020, we may expect some delays due to lockdown. That won’t affect the expected price of R669 000. The Golf GTI TCR comes standard with a 3 year/120 000km warranty, 5 year/ 90 000km Volkswagen Service Plan and a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty. Service interval is 15 000km. Buyers will also get an exclusive TCR keyring, cap and ownership certificate. 