Volkswagen this week announced that it had delivered 264 percent more GTI and R performance models to Australians in 2023 when compared against 2022
It was a jump fuelled in some cases by supply rebounding – and in others by the addition of new performance models to the lineup, with Volkswagen’s GTI and R portfolio accounting for 5499 deliveries in 2023.
The German manufacturer has in recent years added a number of SUV models to its performance vehicle portfolio after a period of only selling go-fast hatchbacks in Australia.
Supply had been very tight for more than a year across all of Volkswagen’s classic hot hatches, but that situation has turned around as follows:
The Golf R has been the biggest thorn in the side of Volkswagen’s performance vehicle division – but things are now rosy enough that VW has lifted a long-lasting order pause on the top-shelf Golf.
It’s now possible to order a Golf R hatchback through Volkswagen’s dealer network once again – but the Golf R estate was sadly discontinued in late 2023.
By far the standout performers of the R line in 2023 were the SUV products:
Supply was less problematic in 2023 on the T-Roc and Tiguan R models, but it does appear that the SUVs will be the major contributors to the performance line on an ongoing basis.
The T-Roc R is the most affordable “full-fat” R product by a solid margin – see prices below.
Volkswagen will introduce another R-rated SUV in 2024 in the form of the full-size Touareg R. That vehicle will become the sole six-cylinder R model in the line – and also the only plug-in hybrid R variant.
Prices are before on-road costs and were correct at the time of writing in January 2024.
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