So-called special editions can be created in a surprisingly ordinary manner – rummage through the parts bin, mix-and-match components, play with colours, customise a few choice features and voila! As long as the result looks good and buyers take the bait, it would have been worth the trouble.
Creating the Golf GTI Edition 35 probably wasn’t troublesome for Volkswagen. Yet another “five-year” commemorative model, the E35 is essentially a detuned Golf R with front-wheel drive (instead of 4Motion 4WD) and bespoke bits for that designer feel.
Push-button starts an older, stronger powerplant than the GTI’s EA888.
On the exterior, the “bits” in question are a lightly modified front bumper with integral black spoiler (it’s body-colour on the regular GTI), glossy black mirror housings (a la the Golf R), reprofiled side sill extensions, dark-tinted rear windows and a new 18-inch wheel design called Watkins Glen (some racetrack in New York). There are also token “35” emblems.
The interior tweaks are more meaningful, especially the front sport seats. They are superbly “huggy” and have a unique upholstery with breathable microfibre portions, whose “bubbles” recall the familiar honeycomb pattern of the GTI’s radiator grille. This awesome cushion material makes the standard tartan cloth seem like sub-standard Tarzan loincloth.
Then there’s the retro “golf ball” gear lever. This is a cute tribute to the original GTI cockpit, but it looks less “correct” in DSG form than the 6-speed manual “ball”. Flashes of “35” complete the E35 effect, along with red-trimmed seat belts.
Gonna need those belts, because this is the quickest-ever Golf GTI by VW. It clocks 6.6 seconds in the century sprint, 0.3 of a second quicker than the “previous” GTI.
A good stopwatch can register this difference in acceleration, but the average petrolhead driving a non-E35 GTI probably cannot – unless he has a good stopwatch.
The top speed has been increased from 238km/h to 246km/h, but this is a moot point on an island where the highest posted speed limit is 90km/h.
The quantitative part is clear-cut, with the 235bhp and 300Nm E35 having 25bhp and 20Nm more juice than the garden-variety GTI, still put through VW’s rapid 6-speed DSG. The more powerful engine is also a little thirstier and dirtier.
Not so clear-cut is the qualitative analysis of the E35 driving experience. Its 2-litre turbo engine is a modified EA113 from the Mk 5 GTI, rather than a derivative of the newer EA888 employed in the Mk 6 model.
On the move, the E35 has a weaker low-end, with its greater oomph only evident well above 2200rpm, but its final approach to the 6000rpm redline (stock GTI 6200rpm) is more dramatic.
Drama is what drives this car, with light-throttle loads making the E35 uneasy. The engine sound is rorty like the Golf R rather than fruity like the EA888, but this is less of a disappointment than the softer exhaust “brrrppp” between upshifts.
The Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 35 is faster than any other factory GTI, but it has traded some refinement for excitement.
There is nothing new in the E35’s three-mode suspension, so it cruises as comfortably as it corners. You just point the Golf where you want to go, steer through and it goes right there without delay. There is additional grip, but only from the seat that holds you tighter than the “old” GTI chair.
Believe it or not, passengers on the back seat enjoy similarly improved support. Incidentally, the ESP (electronic stability programme) can be fully disabled in the E35, unlike in the standard GTI. This tweak, admittedly, is more useful to weekend gymkhana experts than everyday drivers heading to the gym.
This latest exercise has worked out well, but there is an irony here – the Edition 35 special edition is now the default Golf GTI model in our market. How “special” is that?
Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 35 2.0 (A)
Engine 1984cc, 16-valves, inline-4, turbocharged
Max power 235bhp at 5500-6300rpm
Max torque 300Nm at 2200-5500rpm
Gearbox 6-speed dual-clutch with manual select
0-100km/h 6.6 seconds
Top speed 246km/h
Consumption 12.5km/L (combined)
Price incl. COE $195,300
Check out the latest Volkswagen Golf GTI and Volkswagen Golf R
Volkswagen Golf GTI and Golf R are Wolfsburg in sheep’s clothing
