Volkswagen has been known to whip up some exciting special edition GTIs to mark anniversaries – and the German brand has produced something particularly enthralling for the model’s 50th birthday. 

Called the Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50, the upcoming model will officially be the most powerful GTI ever, and the fastest VW around the Nürburgring, beating the latest all-wheel-drive Golf R.

Driven by Volkswagen’s professional in-house racing driver Benny Leuchter, it posted a time of 7:46.13 seconds, just over a second faster than the previous lap record in the limited-edition Golf R 333. 

To make up for the traction loss of the rear axle, the new Edition 50’s chassis and powertrain must have a set of pretty tasty upgrades. No specific technical information has been revealed so far, but VW has confirmed the highest ever engine output for a production GTI. 

As such, the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine will be uprated to in excess of the existing GTI Clubsport’s 296bhp, possibly butting up against the latest Golf R’s 328bhp. No GTI has had so much power since the stripped-out, 306bhp GTI Clubsport S of 2017 – a model that VW has modelled this new Edition 50 on. 

Yet extra power isn’t the only thing that yields a fast time on the ’Ring, so alongside the more powerful engine, we suspect there’s been a range of chassis upgrades, plus tuning changes to the limited-slip differential and the addition of a set of sticky track day-focused tyres. 

From the limited images released, it’s impossible to make out any major changes to the styling compared with the existing GTI Clubsport, but we expect a new set of 19-inch wheels could be on the cards, plus a lower stance thanks to a more focused suspension set-up. 

We’ll have to hold on a little longer to find out all the specifics in detail, as the new Edition 50 will be launched in public at this year’s Nürburgring 24 hours race next week. But if it’s even half as brilliant as the former GTI Clubsport S, it’ll be worth the wait. 

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