2021 Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport 45 Celebrates 45 Years Of Hot Hatch

Meet the ultimate Volkswagen Golf in a Clubsport variant with a top-rung AWD GTI. You will be amazed by its capabilities without the usually powered wheels, offering nearly equal power as the R. The Clubsport 45, is the latest version of the series and this year comes to a much powerful 45 version released as a celebration of the 45th anniversary of the hot hatch.

You can’t see much of a difference from the regular model if you’ll look at the Clubsport 45. Though, the new GTI features larger air intakes, a bigger rear wing for additional downforce compared to a regular GTI. Especially for the 45, the design team developed unique black 19-inch wheels with red pinstripes, a hexagonal pattern stripe, and ‘45’ decals on the sides. There is the same 45 lettering badge on the steering wheel inside the cabin.

The engine offers the same as the regular Clubsport an output of 296 horsepower and up to 400 Newton-meters of torque, coupled to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic to an electronically-controlled limited-slip differential. The Clubsport 45 also has on its standard variant the "Race" package, for extra sport exhaust and removal of the top speed limiter.

Yet, again we have a vehicle that won’t reach the American car market, being produced exclusively for the European market and limited to 5,000 units only. In Germany, the 2021 VW Golf GTI Clubsport 45 price is settled at $57,000 (€47,790).