Our spy photographers caught this seemingly plain four-door Golf running laps at the Nurburgring. But don't let the 2.0 TDI badge fool you. There's an "S" moniker on the caliper hiding between the spokes of the front wheel, but the large, twin exhaust pipes extruding from the rear bumper really give it away. According to our spy guys, this is a prototype of the next "R" variant for the Golf lineup -- the R20.
The oft-rumored Golf R20 will serve as the replacement for the current
R32. Instead of the R32's V-6, the new top-shelf Golf is expected to
be fitted with higher-spec version of the VW Group's venerable 2.0L
turbo, hence the 20 in R20. We expect it to borrow liberally from the
Audi S3's drivetrain, meaning a around 265-hp, all-wheel-drive, and a
0-60 time of around 5.5 seconds.
A two-door hatch will accompany the four-door hatchback model pictured
here, and we expect a more aggressive front-bumper on the production
version. Rumors peg the Volkswagen Golf R20's debut as early as late
May at the Nurburgring 24 Hour race in Germany.