Volkswagen lobs pricing for swansong Golf 7.5 TCR

VOLKSWAGEN has announced pricing for its final Golf 7.5 variant, the performance-honed Golf GTI TCR, which will arrive in Australian showrooms in July priced from $51,490 plus on-road costs.

Only 300 examples of the swansong GTI will be available, which will command a $4800 premium over its GTI donor vehicle.

The TCR dethrones the GTI 40 Years as the most powerful Golf GTI ever, with a permanent peak power figure of 213kW from its 2.0-liter turbo-petrol four-pot engine – the same as the Golf R – as opposed to the 40 Years which could only reach the same power on overboost.

Peak torque comes in at 350Nm, with power delivered exclusively to the front wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and a unique engine note provided by the bespoke exhaust system.

As a result, the TCR is able to sprint from standstill to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds – 0.6s quicker than the 40 Years, but still 0.9s shy of the R.

In lieu of the all-paw grip provided by the Golf R, the GTI TCR uses a limited-slip differential on the front axle, with further dynamic enhancements including a firmer suspension set-up that rides 5mm lower than the GTI, a unique adaptive chassis control system and beefed-up front brakes.

Visually, the TCR is distinguished by its honeycomb decals, 19-inch alloys wheels and black roof, with Volkswagen offering three exterior paint colours – Pure White, Pure Grey and Tornado Red.

Inside, new kit includes Alcantara accents on the gear lever and door trim inserts, black and red cloth upholstery, GTI steering wheel with perforated leather on the hand positions and a red 12 o’clock marker.

Other exclusive standard equipment includes LED headlights with dynamic cornering function and dynamic light assist, while the sole option for the range is a $1900 glass panoramic sunroof.

The new features build on the standard kit of the GTI which includes GTI body styling, electrically folding exterior mirrors, keyless entry and start, an 8.0-inch infotainment system with sat-nav, active info display, city autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian monitoring, adaptive cruise control with lane keep assist, traffic jam assist, emergency assist, blind spot monitor, rear cross-traffic alert and a rearview camera with park assist.

Volkswagen’s all-new Mk8 Golf is set to arrive in Australia in the first quarter of 2021, meaning the TCR will be the final offering from the current generation that first landed locally in 2013, with a model refresh in mid-2017.

Through the first two months of 2020, Volkswagen has sold 2394 examples of the Golf, a 0.4 per cent year-on-year improvement and enough to claim fifth in the small car segment.

In 2019 VW recorded 12,335 sales of its best-seller, which took a 24.7 per cent hit in volume over 2018.