Pictured: A 2017 Volkswagen Golf R

We’re living in dark times, my friends, dark times. What do I turn to to make things a little more bearable? Gin, for one. And a giant punch bowl of spaghetti. And maybe 400 horsepower in the form of the 2020 Volkswagen Golf R, if this rumor is true.


Accompanying the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf in about a year will be a fired-up R version, reports Auto Express. It could have 400 HP from the 2.0-liter four-cylinder motor, all-wheel drive and VW’s dual-clutch gearbox.

Jürgen Stackmann, Volkswagen’s sales and marketing head told the outlet:

“The R brand is going extreme. The role of R is that it can go beyond the rational; nobody needs a compact car with 400bhp, but is there a place [for it?]. Certainly, and that’s the turf of R. “With a little more expressive design, R can go beyond the rational side of things. It [the R brand] can find its place in a different league of pure performance and there’s a space where customers are willing to pay a significant amount of money.”


So, he didn’t yes and he didn’t say no, but I’m feeling hopeful today. I choose to hear “yes.”

Four hundred horses would be a significant jump up from the current Golf R’s output, which comes to 292 horsepower. A turned-up Golf R would put it competitively with the Honda Civic Type R, the Ford Focus RS and the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45.

I try not to ask for many things in life, but I do ask for this.