Watch the 465HP Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI Clubsport 45th Anniversary Edition with an Akrapovic exhaust take on the drag strip.

With an output of 325 horsepower (239 kW), the Golf GTI EDITION 50 is going down in history as the most powerful production Golf GTI to date. Production of the exclusive special model is scheduled ...

To put those numbers into perspective, the all-wheel drive Golf R Mk8’s turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine produces 320 PS (315 HP / 235 kW) and 420 Nm (310 lb-ft).

The 2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI Adds Buttons, Drops the Manual The updated Mk. 8 adds badly needed buttons back to the car's interior, but the manual transmission is lost in the transition.

The manual is gone, but the 2025 Golf GTI adds sharper tech, a refined interior, and standout driving dynamics, making it one of the smartest GTIs yet.

Weighing in at under 3,000 lbs (1,360 kg), it should be capable of going from 0 to 62 mph (100 kph) in 5.5 seconds. But let's have a look at the Golf 8 GTI as well.

The Mk 8 Golf GTI reached North America for the 2022 model year, even though it landed in German showrooms three years earlier. This 2025 model marks a refresh—unofficially dubbed “Mk 8.5 ...

We've been a bit deficient in not reviewing the Mk 8 Golf GTI until now. I reviewed the more expensive, more powerful Golf R in 2022, but the last GTI we drove was the outgoing Mk 7 car in mid-2020.