Search Results for"Golf"

The new 2022 Volkswagen Golf R brings more power, tech and fun than ever before

It has been just under two decades since Volkswagen revealed the first Golf R32, a then-unexpected combination of the classic Golf hatchback platform with the go-fast parts of a performance car—namely the 3.2-liter narrow-angle VR-6 engine and an advanced all-wheel-drive system. From its cornering prowess to its exhaust note, the R32 quickly built a following. Today, Volkswagen reveals the fourth-generation of the Golf R, and while the formula hasn’t changed, the performance potential has rea

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Owners

A Volkswagen Golf enthusiast shares his rare Golf Rallye

When Steve Smith was growing up in 1980s England, the Mk1 Golf GTI was at the peak of its popularity. At age 17, his older brother purchased the family’s first Volkswagen — a 1983 drivers-edition MK1 Golf — igniting Smith’s lifelong love for the compact car. “It became a bit of an obsession,” he said. “My brother and I would save up to buy a GTI, drive it around, learn about the mechanics, and visit car shows.” Their collection slowly grew. Smith graduated college with an electrical an

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Vehicles

#TBT – Volkswagen Golf Country

Built in 1990, the Golf Country was an early foray into the crossover SUV category for Volkswagen and even predated the Toyota RAV4—one of the first mass-market CUVs—by four years. With just 7,735 vehicles produced in two years from 1990 to 1991, the rugged, off-road worthy Golf Mark 2 variant - with lifted suspension and all-wheel drive - is now a collectible modern classic. Volkswagen introduced the “Montana” concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 1989. At the time, the off-road Golf Mark 2 va

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Community

Tracking down the wild, and wildly colorful, Volkswagen Golf Harlequin

Ross Cupples has been chasing down Golf Harlequin vehicles for decades. Ever since the Volkswagen enthusiast first spotted the color-blocked hatchback in 1996, he has made it his mission to own a complete set of the limited-run car in all four base colors. “I think a lot of people who are into them really like the head-turning aspect of them. It takes a certain kind of person to own one,” says Cupples, a used-car dealer in Belmont, N.H. “When you drive a Harlequin, nobody doesn’t look at

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Community

Unleashing the Rrrrr-roar of the Golf Rs at WITW

For one weekend in April each year, the small village of Fontana, North Carolina, hosts a gathering of Volkswagen friends and owners casually known as WITW. What ties these cars together, apart from the VW badge, is that their engines all produce a beloved exhaust note. This year I joined over 100 of these special cars for some fun, both in the village and on the famous roads that surround it. The Golf R32 and Golf R cars have been a staple in the VW enthusiast community ever since the first

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Vehicles

How plaid became part of Volkswagen Golf GTI history

No car has a claim to fame on a day to celebrate all things plaid quite like the Volkswagen Golf GTI – thanks to one woman’s pioneering choices that over the past four decades have become a symbol of driving enthusiasts worldwide. The Volkswagen Golf GTI’s debut in 1976 caused a sensation. Even though only a few details distinguished it visually from the original Golf, Volkswagen—influenced by one of the company’s first female designers—succeeded in transforming the compact car into an af

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Golf R

One of the first Golf R Spektrums heads north to a true Volkswagen enthusiast

Imagine designing your favorite car in your dream color. Thanks to the new Volkswagen Spektrum Program, Jennifer Jensen was able to turn her vision – a 2019 Volkswagen Golf R in Violet Touch Pearl – into a reality. Jensen was one of the first customers in the United States to receive the 288-hp, all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Golf R in one of the 40 custom-order Spektrum colors. The Auto Exotica magazine publisher and TV host resides in Oshkosh, Wis., and her collection of high performance an

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