The new Golf R will arrive in 2027 and will be powered by the same 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo engine used in the Audi RS3.
This model will serve as a farewell to the Golf with a “pure gasoline” engine before the transition to electrification.
It also confirms Audi’s commitment to keeping the five-cylinder EA855 engine alive, after rumors suggested emissions restrictions might retire it.
With this engine, the special Golf will take a significant step forward compared to the current Golf R 333.
While the current car is powered by VW’s EA888 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine producing 333 horsepower, the 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo engine delivers 400 horsepower in the current Audi RS3.
This engine will make the R the fastest-accelerating Golf from 0 to 100 km/h.
As a reminder, the RS3 reaches 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, while the R 333 does it in 4.6 seconds.
However, even more power can be extracted from this engine—as proven by the 2023 RS3 Performance Edition, which is limited to 300 units and has 407 horsepower.
To accommodate the new engine in the Golf R, suspension changes will be necessary to support the added weight.
The five-cylinder engine is expected to moderately increase the weight compared to the current Golf R, which weighs 1,545 kg.
Given that the RS3 weighs about 1,570 kg, the five-cylinder Golf R is likely to add around 25 kg.
The engine will be paired with a reconfigured version of Volkswagen’s seven-speed DSG transmission.
Volkswagen wants this special model to return the Golf R to the top of domestic rankings.
Currently, the Golf GTI Edition 50 is the fastest version of the model on the Nürburgring, with a time of 7:46.13, while the Golf R 25 Years achieved a time of 7:47.31.
