The Volkswagen Golf R is celebrating its 20th anniversary right now with a special edition that’s a little bit more powerful and faster, but also insanely expensive. You can get the R as a hatchback or, if you like outside of the US, as a sports wagon.
But have you ever wondered why the Golf R isn’t available as a sports sedan? It’s kind of the same thing as with the RS6, which would be great as a 4-door. Sure, you can get almost the same powertrain in the Audi S3, but some people just love the VW badge more.
Tradition is very important to the Wolfsburg brand, and it partially explains why there’s no Golf R sedan. The 4-door market belongs to the Jetta. And while you can get that in GLI form, it’s FWD and doesn’t make as much power.
The Golf is the most famous Volkswagen R model, but it’s not the only one. Not many people remember this, but along with the R32 hatchback there was another VR6 monster, the Passat R36. And from 2007 to 2010, they made the frankly insane Touareg R50, powered by a 5.0 TDI. Yes, that’s a V10 diesel engine. Crazy, right?
Extended Volkswagen R family
Nowadays, the Golf R shares the 2.0 TSI (not 100% the same engine, though) with a few other sports models that are pretty rare. My favorite is the Tiguan R because it’s so strange and a bit tail-happy. However, there’s also the Arteon R and the little T-Roc R.
Because Volkswagen is such a global powerhouse, they also make cars that you never hear about. No, not German ones, but ones made for China. In this case, I’m talking about the Volkswagen Lamando, which is a 4-door sports coupe, a bit like the Acura Integra.
I first wrote about the Lamando in 2014. It’s supposed to be a lower, wider Jetta, a bit like what the CC was to the Passat. In 2016, they launched the GTS version which, as you may have guessed, came with a GTI engine.
Now there’s an all-new 2022 Lamado L coming out, and it frankly looks weird from the front. This is why Chinese rendering artist Sugar Design swapped in the bumper and headlights of the Golf 8 R. Not only that, but it gets the trademark Lapiz Blue paint, the oversized 19-inch wheels, the R Performance brake package, and quad exhausts.
And the result: something which looks better than any Jetta, sportier than the Arteon R and more elegant than the Golf R. It’s a shame Volkswagen has no intention of building such a sedan/4-door coupe.
