(Motorsport-Total.com/Motor1) – A VW Golf with over 1,000 hp, a five-cylinder engine from the Audi RS 3, an exhaust system with an outlet in the front bumper, and aerodynamics worthy of a race car.
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No, this is not a private conversion, but an official project by VW Motorsport South Africa, realized on the occasion of the brand’s 75th anniversary in the country.
A Golf for Hillclimb Racing
This special eighth-generation Golf is not intended for road use. It was developed exclusively for use in hillclimb races, where acceleration, traction, and aerodynamics are crucial to achieve the best possible time.
The car made its debut in South Africa with driver Jonathan Mogotsi at the wheel, as part of the celebrations for Volkswagen’s 75th anniversary in the country. The project shows how far the Golf platform can be pushed when all road approval restrictions are removed.
The most impressive change concerns the engine. The engineers removed the classic turbocharged four-cylinder EA888 from the Golf R and instead installed the well-known 2.5-liter turbo five-cylinder from Audi.
However, this is not a simple transplant. The powertrain was comprehensively revised with forged internals, a larger turbocharger, a carbon intake system, and a significantly higher boost pressure than in the production model.
The result is extraordinary: the power output is over 1,000 hp, a figure that brings this Golf close to exclusive hypercars. Volkswagen has not released complete technical details of the conversion, but it is obvious that the engine was designed for extreme performance values.
One of the most striking features is the exhaust system with an outlet in the front bumper, an unusual solution chosen to shorten the path of the exhaust gases and optimize the layout of the race car.
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Radical Aerodynamics and Racing Suspension
Visually, the Volkswagen also changes fundamentally. The front was redesigned with a specific bumper, while significantly widened wheel arches accommodate much wider racing tires than the conventional Golf.
At the rear, a huge wing and a large diffuser are installed. Both elements were developed to increase downforce and improve stability at high speeds.
With over 1,000 hp, the production transmission would of course have been destroyed. Therefore, the Golf was equipped with a comprehensively revised all-wheel drive system designed to transfer the entire power to the asphalt even during particularly hard starts.
The braking system comes from AP Racing, a reference brand in motorsport, with components dimensioned for the high loads in racing operation.
The end result is a Golf that only retains the name and parts of the silhouette of the production model and transforms into a racing prototype with extreme driving performance, intended exclusively for motorsport.
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