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2021 Golf R Specs

72K views 260 replies 82 participants last post by  MMeachGLI 
#1 ·
In November, the owner of my Ontario, Canada VW dealership was in Chattanooga to see the 2021 Golf R.
No pictures, as their cell phones were confiscated
These were his notes:
-the car will be a model year 2021
-now comes with a sunroof
-full LED emblem and light strip in front bumper
-limited slip differential with drift mode option
-full digital cockpit
-300+ horse power
-19" wheels
-built in Germany

My background:
I've been driving GTI's since 1984, all my VW's purchased from the same dealer.
I've had 3 Golf R's. The first one was a 2012 Rising Blue, now driving a 2019 Indium, all 6MT.
The 2019 is the best, the 2016 the worst.
Oh, and I'm 74.
 
#8 ·
Despite all of the DSG humpers around here, I'd say it's very likely that it will still have a manual option.

The R is a crossover model from other cars like the Civic Type R and STI, both of which are exclusively manual. VWoA has also stated that the take rate on the GTI/R combo is as high as 44%, and even higher on the R than the GTI. I find it unlikely that they'd alienate all of those potential buyers.
 
#4 ·
I like the sunroof - but can live without it
I like the limited slip diff - easily fixed with the Wavetrac

The drift mode is interesting to hear how this is accomplished, more aggressive Haldex? With the diff, is it possibly an electronic diff that lets the front wheels carry no power if it wants? That would be the biggest thing to get me out of the MK7.5

I'm not sure if anything else changes my decision to stick with a 2018 though.
 
#9 ·
All indications are that the GTI will be a late 2021 model. I doubt that VWoA will put out the GTI and Golf R at the same time. I hope your 2021 model year info is correct. For the life of me I can't understand why the North American market is still behind Europe by as much as 2 years with new model introductions.

Having seen the Golf VIII, I must say that I was disappointed that the exterior is more like a mild facelift than a brand new car. The front looks worse than the Mk 7.5. I'm also not a big fan of the interior design with focus on eliminating all buttons and using gimmicky slider and touchpad controls. The infotainment screen looks badly intergated with the main gauge cluster too.

This is why I'm contemplating getting a leftover 2019 Golf R 6MT (in Indium gray too, like yours). I'm also curious why you think there's such a quantum improvement from 2016 to 2019 R. If it's the Digital Cockpit, I would have actually preferred the old school analog gauge cluster. To my eyes, the shape of the silver trimmed instrument surround just looks odd with the Digital Cockpit.
 
#11 ·
I got my 19R in April of this year for majority of the reasons you listed here.
The major issues I cant get over are:
1. The location of the headlights. Where currently they eat into the hood, the new headlights do not, and are very downward facing. This makes the hood look huge, the general front area bulge out, and on some colors the headlight brow just looks odd from the side
2. The interior. The badly placed center infotainment...need I say more? Why couldnt they simply do what Audi did and integrate it into the center dash. Hell, they could have done what BMW did which makes the whole thing more presentable.

Overall the rumored HP bumps are just small optimizations or tune ups. You can get gain the same if not better results with a JB4

I do like the new LED tech on the outside. Some interior pieces are decent but time will tell.
I am very curious to see what the R will look like, but I have a feeling it will still disappoint me. I tend to keep my expectations low so I could at least be excited for something.

Its still is an option for me depending on the looks of a white painted model R.
 
#19 ·

I would never believe a Dealer, they are pathological liars! I doubt we get drift mode option and don’t expect to see this until summer of 21’ at the earliest!
 
#23 ·
I call BS on this story.. not necessarily on the OP, he's just the messenger perhaps, but whoever started it is making it up. Why? Because there is literally NO buzz out there about an R even existing yet in any form. Plus those "details" above are just Captain Obvious stuff, nothing there of any substance at all. Yet this dealer person claims to have seen it? Riiiight.
 
#24 ·
Not sure what dealer Cavin J works at, however I have heard the same thing from my dealer in Toronto. True that there have been no sightings, other than possibly in South Africa, however it was only a couple of months before the GLI come out that there were sightings in Arizona and the Nuremberg, so with a 2021 sale date it is possible that the R is at least stylistically pretty much final, and drivetrain wise, if the rumours are true and it’s still a variation of the EA888, and lastly if it’s true that Canada is the second largest market for the R outside of Germany, I think it’s entirely plausible that they could have seen one.


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#31 ·
I dont believe the numbers. They would have to make the R at least pull 350hp, if not more to make it more competitive than the GTI, and there is no indication whatsoever the R will come close to those numbers. VW chief already said a 400hp model aint going to happen, mostly due to cost and Audi having a counterpart. If the GTI is going to have those numbers with a higher optioned spec, along with better tuning then whats the point in getting an R at that stage other than wanting AWD.

If this is in fact what is going to happen then they will further cannibalize R sales.
In general I take all these specs with a grain of salt. For 2 years they were saying a mild hybrid is coming with 400+ hp, and that turned out to be a complete lie.
 
#34 ·
Lol, it will NOT have it! This is BS people!
 
#35 ·
AutoBild still mentioned there might be a R "plus" , IF it even came out would probably not be for North America.

I'll stick with my R for awhile, by then (5-10yrs) they will have figured out a version of an electric R. This may be my last DD gas car. I still have my analog, fun car. :)
 
#37 ·
#38 ·
so im trying to imagine...Joe Biden...driving a 6mt golf-r :thumbup::laugh:

Will it be possible to launch the new 6mt at 4k rpm without bogging down? I mean they're allowing drift mode to compete with the Focus RS so i bet they're going to put a better clutch in the new one to allow launching.
 
#44 ·
The exterior is starting to grow on me a bit, the interior is pretty much another round of cost cutting that moves away from a very rich & flowing example to a chopped up haptic touch mess that has seemed to embrace all automakers today. I love how the main screen in my '18 GTI is incorporated,....just looks so much better compared to the "stuck-on" screen in the mark 8. Kudos for the sunroof now in the R if indeed it is available. The only reason I don't own an R right now is due to it not having one. It will be interesting to see it in person.....
 
#46 ·
2021 rumor

FWIW....From Car Buzz. Main takeaways from my perspective are mild hybrid, 328hp but no MT:

"We will get the Golf R though, which is said to produce 328 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque from its turbocharged, mild-hybrid powertrain. Like the current model, the Golf R will send power to all four wheels but a seven-speed dual-clutch is reported to be the only transmission option, forsaking a third pedal completely. Expect a 0-60 time of around 4.3 seconds with performance options like 20-inch wheels, drilled disc brakes, adaptive dampers, and Akrapovic exhaust."

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 
#47 ·
FWIW....From Car Buzz. Main takeaways from my perspective are mild hybrid, 328hp but no MT:

"We will get the Golf R though, which is said to produce 328 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque from its turbocharged, mild-hybrid powertrain. Like the current model, the Golf R will send power to all four wheels but a seven-speed dual-clutch is reported to be the only transmission option, forsaking a third pedal completely. Expect a 0-60 time of around 4.3 seconds with performance options like 20-inch wheels, drilled disc brakes, adaptive dampers, and Akrapovic exhaust."

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
Cool, and their source is?

I heard it was going to be fully electric to compete to the M3P :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
#50 ·
8. O Come, O Come, Ye Manual

We started with good news for enthusiasts, and we’ll end the same way. The new Golf will be available with a six-speed manual transmission, and Volkswagen spokesman Mark Gillies confirmed to us that the GTI and R will also offer a manual.
Definitely good to hear. A few articles I read said DSG only.
 
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