Ever since the concept Golf R400 was revealed, Volkswagen fans have clamoured for an all-wheel drive super hatch from Wolfsburg that would duke it out with its cousin: Audi’s RS3, as well as the Mercedes-AMG A45. But their hopes were in vain… the R400 is no more.
With a projected output of 294 kW from a highly-tuned 2.0-litre turbocharged motor, the R400 (first shown at the 2014 Beijing Show) would have been positioned above the R model in the Golf product line-up and there were further rumours that an even more powerful R420 model, which would develop 309 kW, was in the works too.
Unfortunately, Volkswagen has had to put several of its projects on hold — or shelve them altogether — in the wake of the turbodiesel emissions scandal and the firm’s former research and development chief Heinz-Jakob Neusser, who had green-lighted the project, has resigned.
It’s not all bad news, however. Volkswagen is set to unveil an S version of its Golf GTI ClubSport at Wothersee and the developed version of the EA888 engine (shown above), which was supposed to power the production version of the R400, has been earmarked for introduction in future Audi models.
Meanwhile, the next generation of the Golf R is expected to break cover in 2020 and although it will have a similar configuration to the current car, it will be lighter and produce higher peak outputs.
View spy images of the upcoming Volkswagen Golf GTI ClubSport S
