A report in Car magazine says Volkswagen will add another performance model to the Mk8 Golf lineup. Called the GTI Cup, it would be a regular production version of the limited-edition GTI TCR recently announced for Europe. Slotting between the GTI and the Golf R, the GTI Cup would marshal the same 286 horsepower and 273 pound-feet as the GTI TCR and be, according to Car, "the sportiest Golf by a clear margin."
An aero kit over a lowered ride height, big wheels and brakes, and a diff lock would attempt to prove the claim. As with the limited Mk7 model, buyers could pay to have the top-speed-limiting chip removed. However, instead of only getting an extra seven miles per hour, for a 260 km/h top speed, an unrestricted Mk8 GTI Cup would run to 267 km/h.
It's said the middle-brother hot hatch will replace the Performance Package available on the European Golf, which makes 245 hp and 273 lb-ft. The U.S. last got a GTI Performance Package in 2017, but horsepower didn't change from the 220 hp of the standard trim. Since the the more potent Performance Package and its model replacement have been Euro-only affairs so far, we question whether the GTI Cup will make it to our shores. We'd also expect VW to de-content the GTI Cup some in order to achieve a friendlier MSRP. In the UK, the limited-run GTI TCR costs 4,610 British pounds more than the most expensive Golf R.
Below the new entrant, the regular GTI's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder would produce 232 hp, a 4-hp bump over the current GTI. At the top, the all-wheel drive Golf R could produce 328 hp and 295 lb-ft, a 40-hp and 15 lb-ft jump over the current model.
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