Man Maths: Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S

Typically, on events like these, the track activity is done ‘ducks and drakes’ style, which means an instructor leads and a number of journalists follow. When it’s done well, this approach doesn’t slow you down, but the exact opposite. I’ve rarely driven harder or faster around a circuit in a road car than in ducks and drakes sessions. But the key is to buddy up with a couple of other journos who will want to go just as hard and fast. The train will only go as fast as the slowest driver.

Which is why, nine years ago at the Nürburgring, I elbowed my way to the front of the queue to ensure I was in the same group as Steve Sutcliffe. Our instructor would be Leuchter himself. I was third in the line, behind Benny and Steve, and over the handful of minutes that followed I was blown away by what that car was able to do. It steered beautifully, the electronically controlled limited-slip differential put everything down to the road, all of the time, the grip on Michelin Cup 2 tyres was immense and the combination of taut body control and pliancy over bumps and kerbs was spellbinding.

I later drove a Clubsport S on really poorly surface UK roads and I was blown away by it all over again. For our crumbling road network, it’s one of the best suspended cars I’ve ever driven.

Leuchter reckoned the pace we were going at was perhaps 30 seconds slower than his record lap time. That seemed like a lot until I realised we’d just driven around the ’Ring at roughly 8min 15sec pace – even back then you’d have needed something very serious and very powerful to go much faster.

(The original 2016 record-breaking time was 7min 49.21sec, but Leuchter was able to chop two seconds off that later in the year.)

Volkswagen only built 400 examples, meaning the Clubsport S is around three times rarer than the Ferrari F40. A good number of those – 150 – came to the UK, priced at £33,995. Given their rarity and reputation, it should come as no surprise to read you’ll pay more today. Reckon on around £35,000, but you can pay close to £50,000 for the best examples.

One reason the Clubsport S was so quick and so brilliant to drive was lightness. With no rear seats and a manual transmission (so much lighter than a DSG) it weighed only 1360kg. But as much as I adore the Clubsport S, I do think not having rear seats makes it something other than a hot hatch. For me, a hot hatch is characterised as much by its usability as its performance, and with only two seats that usability plummets. I view the Clubsport S, and all the other two-seat performance hatchbacks, as front-wheel drive sports cars instead.

But that’s beside the point. If you want the fastest Golf GTI ever, you’ll need the new EDITION 50. But if you want the greatest, you must look back to 2016.

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