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Here's why VW's ultra-exclusive Golf GTI Clubsport S is sold out in SA

Johannesburg - Earlier in January, we reported that the price of Volkswagen's Golf GTI Clubsport S had skyrocketed since it arrived in South Africa in late 2016. 

Yes, there were a handful of the 47 cars in the country advertised at astronomical prices. We've seen an example for R1-million.

Fastest front-wheel drive car to lap the Nurburgring

Only 400 Clubsport S' were built worldwide. 

Well, VW South Africa has just released the price of what the car cost when it was new. 

The Clubsport S with 228kW of power is only available as a two-door body variant and with two-seats.

The most powerful Golf GTI yet holds the lap record for a front wheel drive production cars on the Nurburgring Nordschleife race track with the time of 07min49:21.


Only 400 units have been built and 47 of them have allocated to South Africa. South Africa is one of the biggest markets of the Golf GTI in the world. All of the 47 units were pre-sold by the Volkswagen dealer organisation turning the Golf GTI Clubsport S into an instant icon and collectors’ item according to VW.

SA units are only offered in white with a black roof.


Price - 2.0 TSI 228kW Golf GTI Clubsport S Manual - R742 000


Weight reduction 

The Clubsport S comes with a setting for the Nurburgring Nordschleife race track which can be set using the standard Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) driving profile selector.

The Clubsport S is only available in a manual transmission. Additional components have been removed including the rear seats, insulating material, the variable luggage compartment floor, the rear parcel shelf and bonnet damping.

More: The Golf GTI Clubsport S stands tall amongst supercar giants

A smaller battery is fitted to reduce the weight further down. An aluminium subframe on the front axle and aluminium brake covers resulted in further weight savings.

Exterior details

The most exclusive Golf GTI has the following exterior details: semi-slicks (Michelin Sport Cup 2) mounted on 19" black painted "Pretoria" alloy wheels, tinted rear windows (65% light-absorbing), "Clubsport S" type plates, the black painted roof as well as Xenon headlights with cornering lights and LED daytime running lights. 

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The 17" brake system has been modified to enhance stability on racing circuits, to withstand the high temperatures of the brake components. An important factor for the car's dynamic handling is that the unsprung mass of each wheel is a whole kilogram lower thanks to the aluminium brake covers. To further improve the hot braking performance, the Golf GTI Clubsport S is factory-fitted with special brake pads on the front and rear axles.

Interior 

Each of the 400 Clubsport S units have its production number (001/400 to 400/400) on the ashtray cover beneath the centre console. The driver and the front seat passenger sit in bucket seats.

Also onboard are the GTI insignia featured in the standard Clubsport, including the iconic golf ball gear knob with Velour trim, a red line in the safety belts, “Honeycomb 40” decorative inserts for the dashboard (passenger side) and door trim panels as well as elegant inserts in “Piano Black” for the dashboard (driver side) and centre console.

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The grippy Velour-trimmed sport steering wheel with a chrome GTI emblem, red stitching and 12-o'clock mark has been ergonomically designed for optimal performance on the racetrack.

Chassis

The Clubsport S has a special sport chassis with engineers reconfiguring both of the axles. For example in the rear axle, the modular performance axle has been given extra potential for directional control to achieve higher lateral accelerations. But without altering the McPherson front axle this would result in more understeer. 

We asked our readers if they would spend R1-million on a Clubsport S? Read the comments below the ad:

Emilio: The Gti Clubsport is an excellent car no doubt, but it does not warrant such a price.  VW will be creating another limited edition Gti. I would rather buy property or a pre-owned Skyline GTR.  What will my insurance premiums cost? 

Clayton: One has to be on crack cocaine to pay that for a little overrated GTI that only pimple-faced teenagers dreams about.
 

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