It's finally here! Pricing for VW's limited edition 213kW Golf GTI TCR announced

[FearLess]

When the Volkswagen Golf 7 made its appearance in South Africa seven years ago, one almost knew that the car would garner massive successes.

And why wouldn't it, given that the Golf has become so synonymous with South Africa and its people. The current generation, including the facelifted '7.5', has sold in access of 40 000 units, of which 13 230 (33%) were GTI models. 33%!

That's a significant number, which underlines why Volkswagen Global rates our market so highly. When a special model is produced – either in the last seven years or over the Golf's entire existence - a select number of units have to come our way.

Remember the Clubsport and uber-limited Clubsport S? The two most recent special-edition models that were simply brilliant; almost beyond comprehension.

These were followed up by the 7.5 GTI, which will be replaced later this year by the all-new Golf 8 GTI. But not before Volkswagen has one final say on the matter.
As a final hoorah and send-off for the current GTI model, Volkswagen announced in 2019 that it would bring a TCR version of its GTI to market. TCR, you ask? Well, yes. The GTI TCR is an ode to the Touring Car Racing championship VW competes in with its GTI. And while there are various codes under the TCR banner, the GTI has won the International version on two occasions.

It only makes sense, then, that the automaker signs off on the Golf 7.5 GTI with a TCR model. It's a merger of the successes achieved both on track and the public road. For obvious reasons, the production version of the GTI TCR can't run around with a race-purpose body kit and race-ready drivetrain. Still, the car sees enough alterations over the standard model to accompany the swansong.

One of 300

At the 2019 South African Festival of Motoring, VWSA had a GTI TCR at its stand. The automaker announced then that only 300 units (three for the press) would make their way to South Africa, but technical details on the South African consignment were heavily guarded.

Now, however, the automaker has confirmed that the GTI TCR will make use of the standard GTI's 2.0-litre petrol engine, but power outputs see a massive increase in this iteration.

213kW and 380Nm are generated by the turbocharged motor, with the torque available in a wide ban between 1950 - 5300rpm. Top speed also sees an increase from 250km/h to 264km/h, while the 0-100km/h sprint needs just 5.6 seconds to be completed