Watch Auto Express Thrash the Golf GTI Clubsport S Around the Nurburgring

By now we all know that the Golf GTI Clubsport S holds the record for FWD cars around the Nurburgring, but what exactly does 7 minutes and 49 seconds really mean? In this hot-off-the-internet-presses video from England’s Auto Express we get a hint of what all the numbers mean.

Automotive journalist and vocal fry enthusiast, Steve Sutcliffe, is behind the wheel of the Clubsport S for this video, and he’s following one Benny Leuchter. Leuchter is a touring car racer and has a lot of experience behind the wheel of the Golf GTI TCR, which is the racing version of the Clubsport S. More importantly, though, he was behind the wheel of the Golf GTI Clubsport S when it set its record around the Nurburgring.

As a result, Sutcliffe gets a pretty good idea of how best to attack the track, and to hear him tell it, the Golf GTI Clubsport S is a wonderful weapon to attack it with. It’s got loads of grip, the suspension is stiff, but it doesn’t lose its composure over the kerbs, and it doesn’t even feel like a stripped out, unusable track car, despite the fact that it performs like one.

As a result, Sutcliffe’s conclusions are pretty positive. That said, he doesn’t get to drive the GTI Clubsport S off track and nor have any other journalists, but does that really matter in a car that’s being limited to 400 examples?

What do you think? Has all of this positive press convinced you yet that the GTI Clubsport S is worth the premium over the R?

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