Three Volkswagen Golfs. They look (mostly) the same, but represent three very different ways of going quite quickly. What we have here then are the Golf R, Golf GTD and the evergreen Golf GTI. With the Performance Pack fitted.

On paper of course, the R has this thing in the bag, so it falls down to the race for second place. As ever with these things, the real world is a much greater test of a car’s sprint resolve. Anyone who saw the Focus RS vs Merc A45 AMG vs Golf R test will remember that numbers aren’t everything…

So, click on and watch as the GTD’s 181bhp and 280lb ft of torque plays against the GTI PP’s 227bhp/258lb ft, and the R’s headline 296bhp/280lb ft.

Click here to watch more of our drag races