The quickest and most powerful production Golf in the model's history will arrive at year-end in hatch form … but don’t hold out for the wagon. Or Drift mode.

 FAST wagon fans need quell their enthusiasm for the load-all variant of the Golf R that seems set to join the traditional hatch later this year.

While the next-gen five-door hatch – the most powerful in the type’s lineage - is definitely a starter for New Zealand, the wagon will not be, Volkswagen New Zealand has decided. 

Some of the local market R strategy was revealed at the recent national media event for the mainstream Golf 8.

In addition to confirming intent to have the R hatch here in December, the national distributor has confirmed the car coming here won’t achieve the ultimate pep package conceived for Europe – the R Performance set-up whose features include drift mode and a higher top speed that removes the 250kmh  limiter. 

The wagon is also off-limits.

VW NZ staff acknowledged that there will doubtless be some revheads here keen to sample the wagon derivative that, in VW-speak, is traditionally known as the Variant. 

However, assuming the edition will be made in right-hand-drive and that it might be okayed for delivery to our market, the general feeling is that there just will not be enough fans to make it worthwhile.

They say previous attempts with the Golf in that format, including one that had significant stonk, never really paid off.

Also tempering their thought is that they have this time signed off on another like-sized and same-powered beast able to cope with the same burdens as the trad wagon.

The Tiguan R, which is also going to be here late year and is the first of is type, will be every bit as pugnacious. It packs the same turbocharged 2.0-litre engine in identical 235kW and 420Nm tune as the Golfs and also sends that kapow to all four wheels, via a dual clutch gearbox. It’ll probably be even more practical than the Golf wagon, and it has an off-roading element absent from the wagon.

The Golf R wagon has become a subject of interest because it has recently been spotted testing in essentially undiguised form. 

In terms of the styling, there are very few changes from the R hatchback, which differentiates from GTI and ‘base’ Golf Mk8 models by taking a restyled front bumper, larger side skirts, a more aggressive rear diffuser, quad exhaust tips, a larger rear spoiler, a blue-accented LED light strip across the front fascia and a slew of R badges.

The interior is expected to follow the hatch formula, so there would be R-badged, nappa leather-trimmed sports seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel (with an ‘R’ button for easy access to Race mode), metallic pedals, paddle shifters for the DSG and blue contrast stitching throughout the cabin.

The 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and available 10-inch infotainment touchscreen mirror that of the wider Golf range, aside from a selection of R-specific displays for the instruments.

It’s expected the R wagon will sit 15mm lower than the standard Volkswagen Golf wagon – the hatch hunkers down 20mm lower than the regular hatch - and will feature the hatch’s adaptive dampers (VW’s Dynamic Chassis Control) and a louder Akrapovic exhaust system.

The Golf R in both formats and the Tiguan R all benefit from a common new-generation, Haldex-type all-wheel-drive system featuring R Performance Torque Vectoring that allows up to 100 per cent of the engine’s torque to be distributed between the front and rear axles, or between each individual rear wheel, in milliseconds.

Volkswagen claims a 0-100kmh sprint time of 4.7 seconds for the hatch. The Tiguan and wagon are set to be a bit slower, as result of being heavier products.

The R versions benefit from the same ‘Vehicle Dynamics Manager’ system as the lesser GTI, which controls the ‘XDS’ electronically-controlled front locking differential, ‘DCC’ adaptive dampers, all-wheel-drive system and other electronics systems in tandem to sharpen driving dynamics.

Had NZ taken the Performance pack, the car would come with a top speed of 270kmh, larger wheels and a larger rear spoiler, plus two extra and new drive modes additional to the regular car’s Comfort, Sport, Individual and Race modes.  

One is ‘Drift’ and the other is ‘Special’, which softens the adaptive dampers to cater for the undulating surface of the Nurburgring Nordschleife – enabling the Mk8 Golf R to shave 19 seconds off its predecessor’s lap time around the demanding circuit, to a time of 7 minutes 51 seconds.

The photos of the R hatch skidding up were released last week by Germany to showcase showcase that trick new all-wheel-drive, the rear differential … and that 'Drift' mode.

Under the skin, the new Golf R sits 20mm lower to the ground than standard Golf models, thanks to retuned suspension with 10 percent stiffer springs, revised control arms and wheel mounts, increased negative front camber, and unique anti-roll bars.

Filling the arches are 18-inch alloy wheels, 19-inch units wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 performance rubber likely to be an option. Hiding behind the alloys is a set of larger performance brakes, measuring 358mm up front and clamped by two-piston aluminium callipers.

Sixty percent lighter brakes shave 1.2kg of unsprung mass off the car’s kerb weight, complemented by a further 3kg loss thanks to a lighter aluminium subframe.

NZ is said to support a healthy count of Golf Rs, starting with the first of the breed, the VR6-powered Mk4 Golf R32 of 2003.