Volkswagen breaks lap record at Nürburgring track with special Golf edition

The anniversary edition of the legendary Volkswagen Golf GTI has set a new record by becoming the fastest front-wheel drive production car ever to lap Germany’s infamous Nürburgring circuit.

The achievement by the special 50th-anniversary GTI dethroned the Honda Civic Type R, as the German manufacturer proudly announced, which had held the record since 2023.

Industry observers described the feat as particularly impressive, given that the lightweight GTI sits below the more powerful, all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Golf R in Volkswagen’s performance lineup.

The VW completed a lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife’s full 20.832-kilometer layout in a time less than half a second quicker than the Civic Type R’s previous benchmark.

Still holding third place on the leaderboard is the Renault Megane RS Trophy-R, which once topped the rankings with a 7:45.3 lap time before being discontinued several years ago.

Despite growing pressure from electrification and tightening emissions rules, Volkswagen has pledged to keep the gasoline-powered Golf GTI alive for years to come.

Even as the ninth-generation electric-only Golf is expected later this decade, the combustion-engine GTI is reportedly set to remain in production well into the 2030s.

At the same time, the German automaker is preparing to expand the GTI badge into the electric era. The upcoming ID. Polo GTI is expected to become Volkswagen’s first fully electric GTI-branded hot hatch when it debuts later this year.

The GTI nameplate has been around since 1976 and remains one of the most iconic performance hatchback lines ever produced. Volkswagen says more than 2.5 million GTI models have been built since the original car first entered production.

By Nazrin Sadigova