To mark two decades of the Golf R, Volkswagen launched in 2022 a pricey 20 Years Edition of the all-wheel-drive hot hatch. It was available at home in Germany for the princely sum of €59,995. Nearly the same car was reintroduced earlier this year as the Golf R 333 with a huge price bump as VW put a €76,410 sticker on its most potent Golf ever. Despite the astronomical asking price, all 333 units were sold in just eight minutes.
While the 20 Years Edition was offered in multiple countries besides Deutschland, this R 333 was exclusive to the German market. Not only was it the most expensive Golf in history but it was also pricier than the technically superior Audi RS3 with its stronger inline-five engine. Wolfsburg’s ultimate hot hatch had roughly the same asking price as a Porsche 718 Cayman S. For their money’s worth, customers were invited to the Autostadt in Wolfsburg to take delivery of their prized possessions.
The Autostadt served as the temporary home for over 20 identically specced Golf R 333s painted in Lime Yellow Metallic. These cars all have 19-inch Estoril black wheels, an Akrapovič quad exhaust, and a DSG gearbox. Underneath the hood, the turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine was dialed to 328 hp (or 333 PS, hence the car’s name) and 309 lb-ft (420 Nm). It’s enough four-cylinder punch for a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) run in 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 168 mph (270 km/h) after loosening up the electronic limiter.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Autostadt, it’s a building adjacent to the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg serving as a visitor attraction, in the same vein as the better-known BMW Welt. VW in collaboration with the Autostadt will organize the GTI Meeting from July 26-28 next year as a follow-up to the defunct Wörthersee GTI that had been held since 1982. Relocating the event was forced by the local municipality Maria Wörth after it decided the gathering did not align with its environmental policy.
The gasoline-fueled Golf R still has a few good years left considering VW will give its feisty AWD hatch a mid-cycle facelift in 2024. There’s still time for ultra-expensive special editions, and we’re curious whether there will come a day when VW will charge €100,000 for a Golf. The ninth-generation Golf confirmed for a 2028 launch will be an EV, so a potential R variant will not have an ICE. Better get one while you can.
