Skip advert
Advertisement

Volkswagen Golf R power reduced due to new WLTP regs

And adding insult to injury, the manual and three-door variants have been dropped too!

Volkswagen Golf R PP for UK - rear

Volkswagen has announced that the current, Mk7.5 Golf R is about to get a drop in power in response to incoming World Harmonised Light Vehicle Testing Procedure (WLTP) emissions regulations. VW is not the only manufacturer having to adjust its most potent models, as Peugeot has also put a halt to sales of the 308 GTi by Peugeot Sport until an tweaked version is put into production later this year.

Advertisement - Article continues below

The drop in power for the Golf R is mercifully subtle, by 10bhp to 296bhp, but the news also comes in light of VW’s decision to drop both the manual and three-door variants too, although this, the company says, is due to customer demand, or rather a lack of it.

> Click here for more on the next-gen Golf R

In a statement to evo, Volkswagen has said ‘in the context of new homologations, there are adaptations for the exhaust gas treatment and for the power output. From now on, all Golf R models will feature a 300 PS engine.’

Essentially the power loss has come from the need to fit a more restrictive exhaust to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions – something more stringently policed under WLTP. SEAT also recently went through a similar process with its Leon Cupra.

With an all-new Golf  on the horizon, however, these changes are really just a stop-gap until the next-generation version of the R arrives. It’s expected that hybridisation will play a key role in the next Golf R, with rumours swirling of a circa-400bhp power output, raising the question of how much further the hot hatch can possibly go.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Volkswagen Golf Mk8.5 2024 review – a return to form for the hatchback benchmark?
Mk8.5 Volkswagen Golf
In-depth reviews

Volkswagen Golf Mk8.5 2024 review – a return to form for the hatchback benchmark?

Lacklustre interior ergonomics gave the Mk8 Golf a lukewarm reception, but Volkswagen has focused its efforts on rectifying its downfalls with a mid-l…
24 Oct 2024
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

If F1 had no rules: the car with five outright hillclimb records – car pictures of the week
Gould GR59
Features

If F1 had no rules: the car with five outright hillclimb records – car pictures of the week

In issue 336 of evo Magazine, we had an audience with the Gould GR59, a dominant hillclimb car with five records to its name. These are our favourite …
23 Aug 2025
Aston Martin Vantage (2006) Fast Fleet test – living with a £30k V8 Aston
evo Fast Fleet Aston Martin Vantage
Long term tests

Aston Martin Vantage (2006) Fast Fleet test – living with a £30k V8 Aston

How much does an early V8 Vantage really cost to run? We’re starting to find out
21 Aug 2025
The origins of the Jaguar F-type with the men that made it happen
F Type podcast
Features

The origins of the Jaguar F-type with the men that made it happen

The Jaguar F-type was a sports car 40 years in the making. We reunite the team that made it a reality, which includes our very own co-founder and edit…
22 Aug 2025