AUTONEWS

Volkswagen Golf R with Audi's 2.5-liter turbo 5-cylinder?

Volkswagen is preparing its most powerful Golf yet, with plans to equip the R version with the same 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder gasoline engine used in the Audi RS3. Such a Golf R is expected to arrive in 2027.

The Audi RS3 with a 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo engine has 400 hp and 500 Nm of torque. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h takes 3.8 seconds, and the top speed is 250 km/h or an optional 290 km/h.

With that unit fitted, the special Golf is set to mark a significant step up from the current Golf R 333. While that car uses VW’s ubiquitous 'EA888' 2.0-litre turbo petrol four, uprated to 328bhp and 295lb ft, the run-out’s 2.5-litre turbo five delivers 394bhp and 354lb ft in the current RS3.

That engine is likely to make the new R the quickest Golf to 62mph too. The RS3 can dispatch the sprint in 3.8sec whereas the R 333 completes the run in 4.6sec.

The power output could be pushed further still. Sebastian Grams, former managing director of Audi Sport, told Autocar in 2023 that “there's still a way to go” with the five-cylinder engine compared with the RS3 Performance Edition, its most potent variant to date. That car, which was launched in 2023 and limited to 300 models globally, put out 401bhp and 369lb ft.

The five-cylinder engine has become a signature feature of the RS3, so its fitment into a Golf is being hailed by Volkswagen as a significant moment. The unit is also used in other Volkswagen Group models, including the Cupra Formentor VZ5.

Autonews

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