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.
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.
