Volkswagen Axes Golf R400, But It’s Not All Bad News

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Posted by Jeff Perez

                                   

Will it be built? Won’t it be built? The past two years have seemingly been like a never-ending wheel of speculation surrounding the hotted-up Golf R400. But today we know the truth: Volkswagen will not build the Golf R400. Sad face.

 

The report comes from Automotive News, which says that with the departure of former R&D Chief Heinz-Jakob Neusser, the R400 project has been scrapped. It’s bad news for anyone hoping to get their paws on the world’s most powerful Gulf—but not all hope is lost just yet.

Even though VW is ditching its much-loved R400 project, Audi is said to still be developing an ultra high-performance version of the EA888 engine that was supposed to power the R400. That means while we might not get an uber-powerful Golf, Audi might have something fun (and probably expensive) up its sleeve in the near future.

As for the now-top-of-the-line Golf R, VW is weighing its strategy for the new version coming in 2020. It could follow the same route, but just add more power, or the car could be re-engineered entirely with weight shavings of  up to 300 pounds or more.
We’ll know more for sure when the all-new Golf and Golf R arrive in the next few years.