In its racing livery, it looks almost like a natural track tamer.
Volkswagen doesn’t mind racing on tracks. The GTIhot-hat loves being pushed around on tight tracks and autocross courses in civilian trim. VW has successfully raced the Jetta in the Global Touring Cars (GTC), racing series. It’s now the GTI’s turn to checkered flag glory as the automaker’s latest GTC entry.
Martina Biene is the head of Volkswagen Brand South Africa. “For the last four years, we have been racing the Jetta.” We had to find a suitable successor to the Jetta, as it is no longer available in right-hand drive markets. That is how the Golf 8 GTI was born. The Golf 8 GTI will be officially launched in South Africa and made available to South African dealers only in 2021. However, we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the Golf 8 GTI’s performance attributes before the local market introduction.
The GTC version is not exactly showroom stock, as the photos below show. The details of the racing conversion are not available from VW, but the car gets a chrome-moly tubular body. All vehicles must share a common chassis, running gear, suspension, and tires to comply with the GTC rules. The series emphasizes the driver’s skill more than the cars’ capabilities.
The debut of the racecar is also intended to be a preview for road-going GTIs. When it goes on sale next spring, the hot hatchback will produce 242 horsepower (180 kW) and turn the front wheels. Another hot version, the TCR version, is in development. It comes with aero tweaks and makes 296 horsepower (221 kW). The Golf R is expected to be the most popular model in the range. It could also go on sale as a 2022 version and have 329 horsepower (245 kW) turning all four of its wheels.
coronavirus delayed the start date for the 2020 season for the GTC series. This is similar to what happened for all racing venues this year. Although no official date has been set, rumors suggest that it may take place in August.