BECOMING X

So, here we are. Peak GTI. Eight generations, 45 years and more than 2.3 million sales in the making, the Mk8 GTI Clubsport is the fastest, most powerful, most focused car ever to earn the red pinstripes. For all the Mk8 hype around connectivity and digitalisation, it’s a line-up that’s still found space for the sort of track-tuned performance machine that would once have relied on input from… well, people like us. But this one’s got a factory warranty.

It’s hard not to admire Wolfsburg’s commitment to the cause, considering where the automotive industry is today. Battered by ever-tighter efficiency and emissions standards, unending SUV demand and the spiralling investments needed for electric vehicles, it’s no wonder that the hot hatch class has thinned out over the years. And yet, despite sharing the R&D limelight with the ID models, there are five performance models at the top of the Mk8 line-up.