Last June, I made my way to Germany where I got to do a great many things. One of them was to drive the enticing 35th Anniversary Volkswagen GTI. I thoroughly enjoyed the car especially while barrelling down the Autobahn. As I was doing so, I could not help but imagine what it must be like to drive a race-prepped car, based on this one, on a racetrack such as the Nurburgring.
The day following my road test, I was comfortably setup above the paddocks in the Volkswagen Lounge, staring down the front strait of the world-famous Ring at some fantastically set-up race cars including the Golf24. That weekend, I got to witness history.
This special Golf24 coincides with the arrival of the aforementioned GTI Edition 35. Volkswagen rightly figured that the Nurburgring 24 Hours enjoys tremendous worldwide popularity and is, let's face it, one of the most gruelling challenges in Motorsports. What better place then to demonstrate VW know-how.
The last Volkswagen-backed car to participate in this event dates back to 2007, when the factory entered a 300-hp FWD GTI and finished 8th overall. This time around, 300 horses would simply not do. Volkswagen took less than four months to develop a race car for the challenge and what they managed to create is impressive, to say the least.
Specially-designed and purpose-built for the Nurburgring 24 Hours, the Golf24 features a Volkswagen group updated 2.5L 5-cylinder turbocharged engine. Well massaged and carefully engineered, the lump creates 440 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque. That power is channelled through a paddle-shifted sequential 6-speed gearbox, a three-plate carbon clutch and a permanent all-wheel-drive system.
The car is capable of reaching 100 km/h from a standstill in only 3.8 seconds. This is achievable thanks to the car's weight of only 1,250 kg (2,750 lbs). The ZF Sachs suspension is fully independent and holds four 18x12 BBS light alloy racing wheels wrapped in Dunlop 300/680-18 tires.
The day following my road test, I was comfortably setup above the paddocks in the Volkswagen Lounge, staring down the front strait of the world-famous Ring at some fantastically set-up race cars including the Golf24. That weekend, I got to witness history.
This special Golf24 coincides with the arrival of the aforementioned GTI Edition 35. Volkswagen rightly figured that the Nurburgring 24 Hours enjoys tremendous worldwide popularity and is, let's face it, one of the most gruelling challenges in Motorsports. What better place then to demonstrate VW know-how.
The last Volkswagen-backed car to participate in this event dates back to 2007, when the factory entered a 300-hp FWD GTI and finished 8th overall. This time around, 300 horses would simply not do. Volkswagen took less than four months to develop a race car for the challenge and what they managed to create is impressive, to say the least.
Specially-designed and purpose-built for the Nurburgring 24 Hours, the Golf24 features a Volkswagen group updated 2.5L 5-cylinder turbocharged engine. Well massaged and carefully engineered, the lump creates 440 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque. That power is channelled through a paddle-shifted sequential 6-speed gearbox, a three-plate carbon clutch and a permanent all-wheel-drive system.
The car is capable of reaching 100 km/h from a standstill in only 3.8 seconds. This is achievable thanks to the car's weight of only 1,250 kg (2,750 lbs). The ZF Sachs suspension is fully independent and holds four 18x12 BBS light alloy racing wheels wrapped in Dunlop 300/680-18 tires.
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| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com |