Watch a very, very committed driver make the front-wheel-drive record harder for Honda
We already knew Volkswagen’s Golf GTI Clubsport S was ridiculously quick, primarily because we’ve driven it and Chris Harris has told us so. But nothing validates fast like a Nürburgring lap time. And VW has just smashed its own one.
At launch, the most powerful production Golf ever snatched the front-wheel-drive production car record by managing a 7:49.21sec around the Green Hell – 1.5sec faster than Honda’s Civic Type R. But now they’ve lopped another two seconds off. We’re sure there are some worried looking faces in Honda’s development department this morning.
On October 26, Benny Leuchter headed out to the ring in chilly 8°C temperatures (which VW claims is perfect for keeping the car’s engine and tyres working at their best) for an incredibly committed lap. For this single banzai lap he used all the kerbs and all his brave pills to clock a lap time of 7m 47.19 seconds. Which is bonkers quick.
{gallery}VWGolfClubsport_2ndRecord{/gallery}
Just to recap, the Clubsport S is a £35,000 stripped-out, semi-slicked, uber powerful and aero’d version of the standard Clubsport (now known as the ‘Edition 40’). In the name of speed, VW engineers were ruthless and binned bits that weren’t deemed necessary. The rear seats, parcel shelf, hidden floor, armrests and some of the noise insulation were all chucked in the skip. In total, 30kg has been ravaged from the standard CS – helped by installing a smaller battery and aluminium front sub-frame.
But where weight is down, power is up. The usual 2.0-litre turbo four (the EA888 TSI unit, suck, squeeze, bang, blow fans) has been fettled to give 306bhp and 380Nm of torque through the front wheels. Unlike the standard CS (which features an ‘overboost’ function only allowing for maximum power for ten seconds when the throttle is on the floor) the S gives you all of its beans, all of the time. It’s also got three pedals and a stick to change gears. A purist’s win.
What would help nail that record though were the tyres and setup. A bespoke ‘Nürburgring Mode’ on the drive selection that softens up the dampers and puts everything up to max. It’s a trick a lot of us use on UK roads in cars with trick dampers, but this setting has been specifically honed for the wavy and curly tarmac of the ‘Ring. This, plus the fact that sticky, semi-slick Michelin Sport Cup 2 tyres sit at all four corners.
Over recent years, the hot hatch arms race has intensified with seemingly never-ending one-upmanship to be the King of the Nürburgring. But this time VW has put one hell of a stake in the ground. Your move Honda.