The highly awaited new Golf R will arrive in the first quarter of 2022.
Volkswagen continued its tease of new models heading to South Africa next year with the confirmation of not only the Tiguan R, but also the eagerly awaited new Golf R.
Making the announcement at its 70th anniversary celebrations in Uitenhage this past weekend, the automaker let slip that the latter R will arrive first during the first quarter of 2022, followed by the Tiguan R soon after.
As before, the Golf R will be positioned above the GTI and complete the local Golf 8 line-up after it was decided against bringing a conventional model, powered by the carryover 1.4 TSI engine instead of the 1.5 TSI Evo, to market.
When it arrives, the R will produce the same 235kW/420Nm as the European model, though only with the option of the toggle switch operated seven-speed DSG as the six-speed manual will remain exclusive to the Old Continent and the United States.
Claimed to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 4.7 seconds and reach a top speed of 250 km/h, the all-wheel-drive R debuts a model first Drift mode that allows for controlled slides without any Electronic Stability Control interference, but only on a track.
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While no further details regarding price of specification was divulged, expect the R possibly retail from R700 000 to R800 000 given the GTI’s starting price of R669 300.
With its Touareg R and T-Roc R sibling not earmarked for local introduction just yet, the Tiguan R will sit atop the current range-topping 2.0 TSI 162 R-Line 4Motion DSG as the fastest and most powerful derivative ever made.
Sporting the same outputs as the Golf R with drive also going to all four corners via the seven-speed DSG, the Tiguan R will get from 0-100 km/h in claimed 4.9 seconds and top out at 250 km/h.
Despite lacking its sibling’s Drift mode, the Tiguan R comes as standard with Torque Vectoring which, while ordinarily supplying an even distribution of torque between the front and rear axles, can send as much as 100% of the provided 420 Nm to the rear wheels. Like the Golf R, pricing and specification for the Tiguan R will be revealed at a later stage.
Aside from the R models, Wolfsburg’s other highly awaited new model, the second generation Amarok, will be touching down at the end of 2022 despite its world debut supposedly taking place before then.
Spied undergoing testing for the first time earlier this month, the Amarok, as is already known, will be assembled at Ford’s Silverton Plant outside Pretoria and ride on the same T6.2 platform as the new Ranger and Everest.
Set to differ from its new sibling outside with details regarding the interior unknown at present, the Amarok, according to reports, will however drop the current single-and bi-turbo 2.0 TDI engines for the Blue Oval’s Panther units of similar displacement and forced assistance, while also letting go of the 190kW/580Nm 3.0 TDI V6 in favour of Dearborn’s 186kW/597Nm 3.0 Powerstroke oil-burner that bowed out in the F-150 two months ago.
A high performance, off-road focused R model, allegedly along the lines of the Ranger Raptor, has also been mulled with as much as 221 kW, though nothing else regarding it has been mentioned so far.
Like the Ranger though, which is due to debut before the end of this year, expect details and possibly undisguised images of the Amarok to surface in due course.
