It’s later than expected, but that’s a good thing for fans wanting to experience the hottest Golf in its skiddiest format.

THE quickest and most powerful production Golf in the model's history has landed, asking a $5000 premium to achieve it at the peak of its pro form.

The most choice variant of the ‘R for Racing’ flagship is a First Edition that, at $82,990, delivers the full strength technical and dynamic package created by Volkswagen, notably including ‘drift’ and circuit-ready ‘Nurburgring’ settings that are not on the standard $77,990 car.

Are those adjuncts necessary to a car that still delivers a fire storming performance even without? Of course not. The Nurburgring is half a world away … and drifting in public does tend to be frowned upon. But for some fans, prospect of ‘never using’ doesn’t really matter. Just ‘having’ is important.

So good news about the First Edition. It was planned to be a limited opportunity, with a NZ allocation of just 80 units. Unsurprisingly, VW NZ says the derivative has accounted for 80 percent of pre-arrival sales sign-ups. That uptake has resulted in the distributor telling MotoringNZ.com it has been able to sort a factory deal that’ll keep the order book open. They’re not saying the First Edition will become a ‘forever edition’, but that does lend opportunity to increase the NZ population. The distributor also confirms that the Nurburgring and drift settings cannot be achieved as options on the standard R.

In respect to timings. The R has taken longer to arrive than VW New Zealand had planned. The original intention was to have it on sale in December of 2021. But, then, covid and superconductor shortages and … yeah, it’s been a tough time.

However, the delay has been a bonus as, under the original schedule, New Zealand was set to miss out on the First Edition and its ultimate pep performance package.

VW NZ’s R strategy also embraces a first-of-kind Tiguan R, which packs the same turbocharged 2.0-litre engine in identical 235kW and 400Nm tune as the hottest Golf and also sends that kapow to all four wheels, via a dual clutch gearbox. The sizzler SUV is a little slower to 100kmh from a standing start. Overseas’ data suggests the hatch clocks that feat in 4.7 seconds.

The Golf R differentiates from GTI and ‘base’ Golf Mk8 models by taking a restyled front bumper, larger side skirts, a more aggressive rear diffuser, quad exhaust tips, a larger rear spoiler, a blue-accented LED light strip across the front fascia and a slew of R badges.

The interior is fizzed up with R-badged, nappa leather-trimmed sports seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel (with an ‘R’ button for easy access to Race mode), metallic pedals, paddle shifters for the DSG and blue contrast stitching throughout the cabin.

The 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and available 10-inch infotainment touchscreen of the wider Golf range are retained, but the displays broaden to include R-specific functionalities.

The R model sits 20mm lower than the regular hatch, have adaptive dampers (VW’s Dynamic Chassis Control) and a louder Akrapovic exhaust system.

Hiding behind the alloys is a set of larger performance brakes, measuring 358mm up front and clamped by two-piston aluminium callipers.

Sixty percent lighter brakes shave 1.2kg of unsprung mass off the car’s kerb weight, complemented by a further 3kg loss thanks to a lighter aluminium subframe.

Both versions of Golf R benefit from the same ‘Vehicle Dynamics Manager’ system as the lesser GTI, which controls the ‘XDS’ electronically-controlled front locking differential, ‘DCC’ adaptive dampers, all-wheel-drive system and other electronics systems in tandem to sharpen driving dynamics.

They also share a Haldex-type all-wheel-drive system featuring R Performance Torque Vectoring that allows up to 100 percent of the engine’s torque to be distributed between the front and rear axles, or between each individual rear wheel, in milliseconds.

However, with the First Edition, there’s a top speed of 270kmh (against 250kmh), larger wheels and a larger rear spoiler, plus two extra and new drive modes additional to the regular car’s Comfort, Sport, Individual and Race modes.

The ‘Drift’ mode is the same as features on the Audi RS3, a sister model in all but look (and price). Audi’s is called RS Torque Rear. The system can ultimately divert all its torque to just the one rear wheel, with a theoretical 1750Nm feed (the engine itself outputs 500Nm, but there’s a multiplication factor).

The ‘Nurburgring setting, meanwhile, is essentially that. A tailored setting for the world’s most famous test track. It softens the adaptive dampers to cater for the undulating surface of the Nurburgring Nordschleife. This setting enabled this derivative to shave 19 seconds off its predecessor’s lap time around the demanding circuit, to a time of 7 minutes 51 seconds.

Under the skin, the new Golf R sits 20mm lower to the ground than standard Golf models, thanks to retuned suspension with 10 percent stiffer springs, revised control arms and wheel mounts, increased negative front camber, and unique anti-roll bars.

Greg Leet, general manager of VW NZ’s passenger car division, says the Golf R represents “new technology - ignited by driving passion” and is a model produced by people who value the driving experience.

It’ll be will be the most powerful model in the local passenger fleet until the new Touareg R plug-in hybrid arrives later in the year.

“It represents the absolute gold standard of technology within its class, and we’re excited to see it here in NZ.”