What's the news?
Want an example of the fastest front-wheel drive production-spec hatchback around the Nürburgring? Well, tough: the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S isn't coming to Ireland.
Mind you, only 400 of these super-light, ultra-focused Golf GTIs are being made in total and the lion's share of them are going to a market not a million miles away from ours, the UK. That means it's likely some of the right-hand drive examples will filter onto our shores.
And all 150 of the UK-bound cars have already sold out, showing how appealing this souped-up Golf really is. Deliveries of the 'ultimate expression of the legendary GTI' begin in October and the lucky owners get a 310hp, 2.0-litre engine in a package that weighs just 1,285kg.
Volkswagen stripped out the weight by fitting items such as an aluminium front subframe and brake callipers, and a smaller battery, and removing other bits, like the sound deadening, the variable boot compartment floor, the parcel shelf, the floor mats, the bonnet dampers and - perhaps most obviously of all - the rear seats. Even air-conditioning doesn't make it onto the list, although it can be specified back in as a no-cost option but with the addition of 10 precious kilogrammes of weight.
All this, plus tweaks to the engine/mapping (including a revised fuel pump), gives the Clubsport S a 0-100km/h time of 5.8 seconds and a top speed of 264km/h. With 380Nm from 1,850- to 5,700rpm, and that 310hp from 5,800- to 6,500rpm, this allowed the Clubsport S to lap the 'Ring in 7m 49.21s in May 2016, nicking the record from Honda's brutal Civic Type R.
More goodies fitted to the car are 235/35 ZR19 Michelin tyres wrapped around Pretoria alloys, Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) to alter the car's responses (with a special Nürburgring mode included), race-derived heated bucket seats and a 10mm-wider 65mm exhaust system, which improves both breathing and the soundtrack. The Golf GTI Clubsport S additionally comes in just three colours, which are Tornado Red, Pure White and Deep Black.
Anything else?
If the lack of official Clubsport S models making it to Ireland bothers you, there is a Clubsport Edition 40 in the line-up, which has a regular 265hp but which can kick out 290hp on a time-limited overboost function. Both Clubsport versions of the Golf GTI are based on the TCR racing car which was launched at the start of this year.