Relative Stranger

A hybrid hot hatch isn’t the only performance variant Volkswagen has developed for its new Golf. Say hello to the first ever factory built Golf race car.

- Will Beaumont

THE SAYING GOES ‘WIN ON SUNDAY, SELL ON Monday’, the idea being motorsport prowess helps shift road cars. But this concept hasn’t really been necessary for the VW Golf, and the GTI has certainly never needed a high-profile race car to boost its popularity. Nevertheless, here is a Golf with a gargantuan wing sprouting from its rear window and a set of arches that would shame a World Rallycross car. It’s called the Golf GTI TCR.

So why, 40 or so years into its life, has VW made the Golf into a proper race car? Well it’s not to sell more road cars. What Volkswagen is looking to sell is the Golf GTI TCR itself – to anyone who wants one. Designed to be bought by individuals and race teams, it can be campaigned in any of a number of global race series. More of a ‘sell on Friday, win on Sunday’ mentality, then.