VW Golf R Gets Super Serious with Near 300 HP

Until now, we think. The fourth generation VW Golf R, based on the seventh-gen Golf, has officially debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and under its hood is an increase in power that dwarfs the prior three generations.

Recall that the first Golf R32 produced 237 horsepower, and the one that followed made 247 hp. The outgoing third-gen model offered 261, which means the latest Golf R, with its turbocharged 2.0-liter TSI four-cylinder engine now producing 296 hp, has received the biggest bump in power by far. In fact, the 36-hp bump is more than the R-line has seen in its first three generations combined.

That engine also makes 280 foot-pounds of torque, which can be carved up by either a six-speed manual or dual clutch transmission. As before, a Haldex all-wheel-drive system sends power where its needed most among the four contact patches. Those wheels can now be ordered in 18- and optional 19-inch sizes, the latter of which fit snugly in the fender wells of a body that's been lowered an extra 0.2 inches compared to the GTI. The Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) system now also offers a Race mode, which stiffens the dampers and quickens shift times, as one of its four settings.

Of course, since the MKVII Golf hasn't even yet gone on sale in the US (we're expecting it to arrive next year as a 2015 model), the Golf R is even further out for us. But unlike much of the hardware we've been exposed to in Frankfurt, this one will be seeing the grass on our side of the fence eventually.