- VW Golf GTI Edition 50 blitzes the Nürburgring
- Sets new record for front-wheel drive car
- Lap time of 07:44.523 minutes
- Ousts the Honda Civic Type R from the No.1 spot
- Honda had held the record since 2023 with a time of 7:44.881
- GTI Edition 50 is also the fastest ever VW around the ‘Ring
- Lease the VW Golf GTI Edition 50 right now with Select Car Leasing
It’s official - the VW GTI Edition 50 is the fastest front-wheel drive car to ever lap Germany’s infamous Nürburgring race circuit.
The hot hatch blitzed the ‘Ring with a time of 07:44.523 minutes - nabbing the crown from the Honda Civic Type R, which had held the record since 2023 having set a time of 7:44.881 mins.
It’s an astonishing achievement for the lightweight VW - which actually sits behind the all-wheel drive and more powerful Golf R in the German firm’s line-up.
Yet you can’t help but feel a pang of sadness that the utterly intoxicating Civic Type R is no longer with us, having been mothballed earlier this year.
(We spent a week with the Honda Civic Type R and didn’t want to give it back)
On the plus side, you can lease the VW Golf GTI Edition 50 right now with Select Car Leasing.
Is the VW GTI Edition 50 front-wheel drive?
Yep, the VW Golf GTI Edition 50 channels its power to the front-wheels, just like the other current GTI models.
It’s underpinned by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four cylinder engine which is mated to a 7-speed DSG gearbox.
On paper, the 325 PS GTI Edition 50 should lag behind its 333 PS Golf R sibling. After all, the Golf R can accelerate from 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds while the Golf GTI Edition 50 takes 5.3 seconds to hit the same speed.
So why is the GTI Edition 50 a good couple of seconds faster on the world’s most famous racetrack (the Golf R set a significantly slower time of 7:47.31 back in 2022)?
Golf GT Edition 50: ‘the most powerful and dynamically precise production Golf GTI’
The GTI Edition 50 (which celebrates five decades of GTI models) is all about agility and precision.
It sits 15 mm lower than a classic Golf and is equipped as standard with DCC adaptive chassis control.
Tick the ‘GTI Performance package’ options box and the chassis is lowered by a further 5mm while you also get a lightweight R-Performance exhaust system with rear silencers in titanium, 19‑inch forged alloy wheels and Bridgestone Potenza Race semi-slick tyres.
The record-setting car was equipped with the very same pack.
VW’s test pilot was driver Benjamin Leuchter, who said: “The Nordschleife is unique with its bends, very different sections, bumps and even jumps. And the same is true for this GTI: with impressive power, a very neutral set-up and at the same time the ability to take any bumps in its stride. The Golf GTI Edition 50 is therefore more than just an anniversary model: it shows what performance in the compact segment can feel like when technical expertise, passion and 50 years of GTI history come together.”
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