This is what Volkswagen’s Golf GTI Clubsport 24h racer feels like to drive

Last weekend, Volkswagen officially unveiled the new Golf GTI Clubsport, which actually has few changes. But behind the scenes, work has been going on day and night for the past four and a half weeks on a one-off version to create a 343bhp bare-knuckle racer.

The target? To act as a testing ground for future racing Golfs during the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring. But what VW couldn’t have predicted was how well the car would do despite an apparent baptism of fire.

Although the race was abandoned after just over seven hours due to a thick layer of fog, the Golf (run here by Max Kruse Racing) finished 43rd overall with 44 laps completed at an average of just under 30 mph. This also meant it won the alternative fuel class ‘AT3’, which also included BMW M4, Porsche 718 Cayman and Toyota Supra GT4 cars.

But while its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder may not be the meatiest in the group, the Golf makes strides with its mechanical grip. It weighs just 1,170kg and features a heavily modified suspension, making marginal gains in every corner over its more powerful rivals.

So to find out what this hotter-than-hot Golf feels like, we spent some time talking to Nicholas Otto – one of four Max Kruse Racing drivers who competed with it at the N24.

“Out of the box, there has been no major installation work and no major testing has been carried out. The car came here a little over a month ago with about 50 kilometers on the odometer. We ran some engine and gearbox applications at the official test facility and took the car to Bilstein to develop the dampers for us before making a few traction and camber adjustments ourselves.

“When we finally got in and started testing the car a few days ago, we were driving with low fuel consumption and found we were several seconds faster than some of our competitors. So for a car that isn’t even completely finished yet, this makes us want to work on it even more.”

Otto himself is no stranger to the Ring or racing, having been to the Green Hell regularly almost since his arrival in the world. But most of his experience comes with rear-wheel drive cars, having competed in Formula Renault and the M235i cup, so the front-wheel drive Golf is quite a big change for him. And in one ‘VW driver loves VW race car shocker!’he quite liked it.

“My first lap a few days ago left me quite amazed. You can really hit it through the corners and carry so much speed. The car runs perfectly; a small turn leads to a perfect angle through corners. There is minimal wheel spin, even at full throttle, so you can really steer.”

Otto even told us that he had no trouble keeping up with the bigger GT3 cars during the practice sessions.

“It’s all about the grip. The level is so high and you can really work around it thanks to the mechanical differential. We also have quite a high preload on it so we have good traction.

“I had very little time to get to know the car, but it gives so much feedback and you have so much confidence in it that it was actually very easy to learn.”

Maybe next year we’ll get one based on the top class ‘R’… and a full 24 hour race too.