Debuting mid-year, this is your first peek at the 2024 VW Golf R facelift (Mk 8.5)
Sanjay · Jan 29, 2024 12:25 PM
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This here is the world's first glimpse of the 2024 Volkswagen Golf R facelift (Mk 8.5) attacking the Austrian Ice Race in Zell Am See, to serve as an appetiser before its global debut in the middle of this year.
"Unmistakeably R", as Volkswagen says, hence the updated Golf R was brought to show its all-wheel drive prowess by racing legends Hans-Joachim Stuck (3 times 24 Hours of Le Mans winner) and Johan Kristoffersson (6 times World Rallycross Champion) in the wintry town's fourth edition of its famed Ice Race.
Official specifications aren't released just yet, though typical of facelifts what's under the hood currently should carry on, albeit tweaked here and there. Either way, the current pre-facelift Golf R has plenty of muscle – its EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged engine makes 320 PS and 400 Nm of torque. We wouldn't put it past VW to bump outputs a bit though.
Other updates should come in the form of a return to buttons (as previewed by other previously-announced Golf variants), a larger infotainment with ChatGPT integration in its software, and of course, a visual nip and tuck.
More details will follow as the car inches its worldwide launch. For now in Malaysia though, we have the pre-facelift 2024 VW Golf R; locally-assembled (CKD) in Pekan, Pahang, it's estimated to be priced from RM 330,000 to RM 350,000.
With humble beginnings collecting diecast models and spending hours virtually tuning dream cars on the computer, his love of cars has delightfully transformed into a career. Sanjay enjoys how the same passion for cars transcends boundaries and brings people together.