Volkswagen previews 'cleaner and meaner' Golf 8 GTD

Published Feb 17, 2020

Share

Wolfsburg, Germany - Diesel might have fallen from grace in Europe thanks the the so-called #dieselgate scandal, but Volkswagen is not giving up on its high-performance diesel hatch. In fact, it's making a serious effort to clean it up.

The German carmaker has confirmed that there will be a GTD version of the eighth-generation Golf and it has also found a way to drastically reduce emissions. The above teaser sketch, released ahead of the GTD’s world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on March 3, perhaps also holds a few clues to the design of the new GTI, but for now let’s take a look at what’s happening on the diesel front.

According to Volkswagen, the GTD’s new engine is not only the cleanest diesel engine ever fitted to a Golf, but it will also be one of the cleanest combustion engines in the world.

This is thanks to new twin dosing SCR catalytic converters with double AdBlue injection, which are said to significantly reduce NOx emissions.

There’s no official word how powerful it will be, but VW does state the obvious fact that it will be the most powerful diesel-powered Golf ever, so at least we know it will improve on the previous GTD’s outputs of 130kW and 350Nm.

However, according to a supposed dealer document that was leaked in January, the new Golf GTD will produce 147kW, while the GTI will be offered in 180kW and 221kW variants and the R will be good for 245kW.

IOL Motoring

Click here

to sign up for the IOL Motoring Newsletter and receive the latest motoring news, insights and reviews in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Related Topics: