Ultra Mega Hyper Hot Hatch

With a power-packed bespoke turbo firepower at its heart, this Golf R makes a compelling argument as the default entry for a (Hot as) Hell Hatch!

- Fuzzy Woozy

Prior to the advent of the sizzling Golf R back in 2009, the raciest VW hatch already had the fabled ‘R’ moniker in its namesake albeit in an alphanumeric combo of R32. It started with the 2003 Mk4 version harnessing some 240 ponies and almost 240 foot-pounds of torque from the 3.2 liter narrow-angle inline-6 relayed on to the tarmac via VW’s 4Motion 4WD; naught to sixty was a respectable 6.6 seconds.

2005 saw a reworked Mk5 R32 with nearly 250 hp and DSG drivetrain – good for 6.2 seconds century sprint, impressing even the hard to impress British motoring critique.

A respected UK motoring editor commented, “So the R32 is fast, but it is also a very accomplished high-speed cruiser. Many cars of this ilk provide rapid acceleration through a combination of short gearing and an engine that’s constantly made to work at high revs, which makes them a real chore over longer distances. Not so the R32, which never feels unduly stressed at motorway speeds thanks to a long sixth gear.”

For their next offering VW decided on an entirely new slate – enter the Mk6 Golf R unveiled on September 15 2009 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The naturally aspirated 3.2 liter six was consigned to the archive and in its place a diminutive 2 liter with cutting edge forced induction – a hint of what’s to consume the entire automobile industry.