The Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport is here with a *166mph* top speed

Volkswagen has revealed its new Golf GTI Clubsport, which celebrates the venerable hatchback's 50th anniversary by putting on an angry suit and swelling its lungs a tad.

For that, read: a more aggressive bodykit, a minor interior update and a healthy power boost over the standard GTI.

That means the turbocharged 2.0-litre four-pot has been given an extra 20bhp to a new total of 296. There’s also a juicy 295lb ft of torque to play with, which helps launch the new Clubsport to 62mph in 5.6s (0.3s quicker than the standard GTI).

Better still, frequent Autobahn users can upgrade their Clubsport with a ‘Race Package’ that derestricts the top speed to now run out of steam at 166mph. In a Golf. VW has also fiddled with the dampers too, so it should be able to dance around the twisty bits a little more confidently.

To add some further distinction from the standard GTI, VW has also spruced the Clubsport up with reimagined lighting clusters, diamond-cut 18in alloys (or 19s as an option) and a lightly sharper rear spoiler. Subtle touches, but certainly noticeable.

The same applies to the interior, where a bigger 12.9in infotainment unit comes with VW’s latest MIB4 system, which sits just above the touch-sensitive climate settings that we know you lot love so very, very much.

No pricing has been announced yet for the new Clubsport, but we expect it’ll be a few bands above the circa £40k needed for a standard GTI.