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Volkswagen R is preparing the Golf R 24H for the 2027 24h Nürburgring. The show car previews the most radical Golf R ever, built with Max Kruse Racing.
Michael Powers, Editor
01:42 06-05-2026
Volkswagen is preparing the most radical Golf R in the model’s entire history. The new Golf R 24H will line up at the 24h Nürburgring endurance race in 2027 — right in time for the 25th anniversary of the R range, which began in 2002 with the Golf R32.
For now Volkswagen calls the car a show car, but work on the actual race car is already underway. The project is being developed together with Max Kruse Racing, while the technical specs are being kept under wraps. The exterior alone, though, makes one thing clear: this is no ordinary Golf R with stickers and sporty wheels.
The Golf R 24H gets an aggressive aerodynamic body kit, a large front splitter, widened arches, vented front fenders, a developed rear diffuser and a huge rear wing. The tailgate window has been replaced with an opaque panel that serves as the mounting base for the wing. At the rear there are no familiar four Golf R exhaust tips, but this isn’t an EV: the body shows hood vents and a side exhaust.
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Volkswagen R boss Reinhold Ivenz has already called the project «the most spectacular Golf R to date». It’s too early to expect a road version: the Golf R 24H is being built strictly for the track. Still, the intrigue remains, because Volkswagen has previously hinted at the possibility of a more track-oriented Golf R. If elements of this project make it to a production car, it could be a kind of Golf R Clubsport.
It’s worth noting that the Golf R 24H isn’t just for racing. Against the backdrop of work on the all-electric ninth-generation Golf, the brand is showing that the current combustion-engine Golf isn’t written off yet. The 24-hour Nürburgring race could turn out to be not the final chapter for the petrol Golf R, but its last chance to get a properly hardcore road version.
The main unknown is the engine. Volkswagen hasn’t confirmed either the power output or the engine layout yet. It’s exactly that data that will reveal whether this is just a flashy racing project for an anniversary, or the foundation for the most interesting petrol Golf in years.