New Golf GTI EDITION 50 is the fastest Volkswagen production model on the Nordschleife track
Not yet on the market and already a record holder: on 20 June 2025, Volkswagen will present the world premiere of the new Golf GTI EDITION 50 at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.
The most powerful production GTI to date is the exclusive anniversary model for the 50th anniversary of the compact sports car icon. The birthday celebration will take place in 2026 – in parallel with the market entry of the new model.
But the Golf GTI EDITION 50 has already written itself into the history books of the Nürburgring and the Volkswagen brand: racing driver Benny Leuchter (D) completed a lap of the Nordschleife with a near-production test vehicle of the Golf GTI EDITION 50 in just 07:46:13 minutes. A new record – never before has a Volkswagen with road approval been faster on the Nürburgring.
“The new Golf GTI EDITION 50 is a statement with which Volkswagen expresses the pure GTI idea – the combination of superior drive power and highly precise chassis with front-wheel drive – more effectively than ever before,” explains Benny Leuchter after his record-breaking drive.
The racing driver, who has been testing and tuning the chassis of new models for the Development department of the Volkswagen brand for many years, set this new record time during the official record drive of the Golf GTI EDITION 50 at the Nürburgring. “It’s truly impressive how easily this Volkswagen can be moved so quickly over the Nordschleife track,” says Leuchter.
“In technical terms the car was the same as the version that will be sold in the future,” points out Leuchter. The Golf GTI EDITION 50 will be optionally available with a Performance package, which includes a performance chassis and particularly lightweight 19-inch semi-slick Potenza Race tyres from Bridgestone, which have been specially developed for the car.
The tyres are mounted on likewise very lightweight forged wheels, which noticeably reduces the unsprung and rotating masses. “The record car was equipped with this package – that was the decisive factor in my opinion,” adds Leuchter.
“The entire set-up of the Golf GTI EDITION 50 means you can drive the ideal line of the Nordschleife with high precision,” explains Benny Leuchter. The racing driver continues: "If you really want to be fast on the track known as the ‘Green Hell’, the car also has to compensate for the typical bumps in the ground and reach very high cornering speeds. This is exactly what the Golf GTI EDITION 50 achieves in perfection.
“The aplomb with which it masters the peculiarities of the legendary Nordschleife is cool: the GTI is instantly stable over the entire 20.8 kilometres." Almost 10 years ago, Benny Leuchter drove a Golf GTI Clubsport S3 (228 kW/310 PS) to set the first Volkswagen lap record on the Nordschleife at a VW internal timekeeping: the time shown on the stopwatch was 07:49:21 minutes – never before had a VW front-wheel drive production vehicle been faster on the Nordschleife.
In 2022, Leuchter beat his own best time with the all-wheel drive Golf R 20 Years (245 kW/333 PS): 07:47:31. It's important to note: For both of the aforementioned records, the timed lap on the Nürburgring Nordschleife started flying in front of grandstand T13.
The start and finish for the measurement were at the beginning and end of the grandstand, respectively; the approximately 200 meters in between were not counted. The official lap time of 07:46:13 for the Golf GTI EDITION 50 includes this distance.
For better comparability, a look at the on-board camera installed during the record run provides a time of 07:41:27 for the comparable lap. Leuchter: “Three years ago, I wouldn’t have thought that I could ever beat the lap time of the outstanding Golf R2 with a front-wheel drive Golf GTI1 as clearly as I have now.
“The fact that this has now happened – in quite bad weather, by the way – actually says everything about the successful set-up and extraordinary potential of this GTI.” Until the Golf GTI EDITION 50 can be ordered, the vehicle will be listed in the "Pre-Series Models" category in the official Nürburgring listing.