The Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50 Sets New Nürburgring Record
The upcoming Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50 has made history by becoming the fastest production-based VW model to lap the Nürburgring, surpassing even the more powerful Golf R.
This special edition of the hot hatch, based on the current Golf GTI Mk8.5, is expected to be the final pure-combustion GTI before the badge transitions into the electric era. It completed the 12.94-mile Nordschleife circuit in an impressive 7 minutes and 46.13 seconds.
The record-breaking lap was achieved just over a week before the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours event, where the GTI Edition 50 will be officially unveiled on June 20th.
Although the special Golf won’t be available in UK showrooms until 2026, it has already generated excitement by outperforming the Golf R 20 Years and coming closer than ever to the front-wheel-drive Nürburgring lap record set by the Honda Civic Type R in 2023.
By beating the Golf R 20 Years, a 328bhp anniversary model that set a time of 7 minutes and 47.31 seconds in 2022, the new front-wheel-drive GTI Edition 50 has now taken the lead as Volkswagen’s top performance Golf model.
The impressive lap time was achieved by Benny Leuchter, VW’s experienced development and race driver. Despite challenging conditions, including rain and wet track surfaces, Leuchter managed to navigate the circuit flawlessly.
