The new Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50 almost broke the front-wheel drive Nürburgring record

It’s finally happening. Almost a decade since the Mk7 Golf GTI Clubsport S took our breath away – and second place at eCoty 2016 – Volkswagen is building another track-focused GTI to take on the hot hatch big leagues. It’s called the GTI Edition 50, and it could be the car to unlock the full potential of the Mk8 Golf, which hasn’t yet hit the heights of that stunning Clubsport S in any of its GTI or R forms. 

Volkswagen is remaining tight-lipped on details until the Edition 50’s full unveiling on 20th June, but it’s clear this won’t just be a badge and stickers job. With Benny Leuchter at the wheel, it has already recorded a 7:46:13 lap of the Nordschleife, putting it within 1.5sec of the front-wheel drive production car record set by the Honda Civic Type R in 2023.

That time makes it the fastest production Volkswagen around the Ring, beating the Golf R 20 Years edition by more than a second. But that’s not the full story. The 20 Years was timed on a shorter lap, and an equivalent run would have the Edition 50 more than six seconds faster than the R. The Mk7 Clubsport S, meanwhile, is around eight seconds slower. 

Where have the gains come from? The Edition 50 remains front-wheel drive but an optional Performance package brings a retuned chassis, as well as lightweight 19-inch wheels with sticky Bridgestone Potenza Race tyres developed specifically for the car. If it’s anything like the old Clubsport S, expect the upgrades to include reworked suspension and adaptive dampers, revised geometry and recalibrated software systems (the Mk8 uses Volkswagen’s Vehicle Dynamics Manager to control its limited-slip diff, adaptive dampers and torque vectoring-by-braking). Whether it’ll follow its predecessor in ditching the rear seats for weight saving remains to be seen, but given the Mk8 is only offered with five doors, that’d be unlikely, unless they decide to go all in like Jaguar's Project 8.

A more powerful engine should be on the menu, however, given that the GTI Clubsport’s 2-litre EA888 turbo unit tops out at 296bhp and we know it’s capable of 328bhp in the Golf R. But the real improvement, it seems, is from that new chassis. ‘It’s truly impressive how easily this Volkswagen can be moved so quickly over the Nordschleife track,’ said Leuchter. ‘In technical terms the car was the same as the version that will be sold in the future. The record car was equipped with [the Performance] package – that was the decisive factor in my opinion.’

Poor weather conditions meant that Leuchter only had one attempt at recording a lap time, and even that wasn’t ideal with damp patches on the track in places. Was that the difference to the Type R? Potentially. We’ll know more about the Edition 50 when it’s unveiled to the public at the Nürburgring 24 Hours next week, ahead of a market launch in 2026.