This Volkswagen GTI Can Lap the Nordschleife In Under 8 Minutes

This is the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S that made its debut today at the Wörthersee festival. Taking the standard GTI, Volkswagen turned it up to eleven. The turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder has been improved with a new fuel pump, optimized ECU, and exhaust system. Power stands at astounding 306 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. This is paired with a six-speed manual that routes power to the front wheels. Volkswagen says the GTI Clubsport S can hit 60 mph in 5.8 seconds or 0.7 seconds faster than the standard GTI. Top speed is said to be 162 mph.

Engineers also put the GTI Clubsport S on diet. The interior loses the rear seat, center armrest, and some sound isolation. Other weight loss tricks include an aluminum subframe for the front suspension and a smaller battery. These changes helped the Clubsport S have a curb weight of 2,833 pounds or about 139 pounds lighter than the lightest Golf GTI sold in the U.S.

Outside, the GTI Clubsport S features a more aggressive body kit and a set of 19-inch wheels wrapped in semi-slick Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires. The interior gets racing seats, an Alcantara-wrapped sport steering wheel, and seat belts featuring a red accent.

Now for the bad news. Volkswagen will only produce 400 GTI Clubsport S models worldwide, and sadly the U.S. isn't included in that.

What about that Nürburgring record?

Volkswagen enlisted German touring car and open-wheel driver Benny Leuchter to see if they could beat the current lap record for front-wheel drive vehicles - held by the Honda Civic Type R with a time of 7 minutes and 50 seconds. Leuchter went out on the track and was able to beat it by a second - 7 minutes and 49 seconds.

You can check out the onboard video of the record attempt below.

Pic Credit: Volkswagen