The Golf’s specifications are properly impressive, and the fact that a car was built for hillclimb duty by a manufacturer is a little mind-blowing. The car has been called a GTI and also a Golf R, and we’ll clarify why that is on Sunday when we see the car up close. What matters is that this new car boasts a full carbon fibre body, a transverse four-wheel drive transmission, a comprehensive MoTeC management system controlling all technical operations, and massive AP Racing brakes behind 18-inch race wheels shod with sticky Michelin race rubber.

What makes this project better than most is that instead of tinkering with the latest 4-cylinder lump, power instead comes from a well-modified 2.5-litre 5-cylinder, the DAZA we all love, capable of churning out more than 1,000hp. This makes it one of the most extreme Volkswagens ever built by the factory team. The 6-speed sequential gearbox features manual sequential gear selection, with SADEV rating the transmission to handle up to 1,000Nm in a hillclimb application.

This is the same car that was originally intended to debut at the Simola Hillclimb in Knysna earlier this year, where Volkswagen Group Africa Chairperson and Managing Director Martina Biene revealed that it was being built with the ultimate goal of not just participating at future Simola events, but winning outright. The Zwartkops event will therefore serve as the perfect proving ground to see whether the creation has what it takes. Factory race driver Jonathan Mogotsi will be piloting the new hillclimb Golf GTI/Golf R, backed by Rory Atkinson and Matthew Merton in a pair of stock Volkswagen Golf 8.5 GTIs.

“The 2,000-metre Zwartkops Top of the Hill Challenge is one of our fun events of 2026, and we cannot wait to entertain our many Gauteng fans there,” said Volkswagen Head of Motorsport Mike Rowe. “Jonathan Mogotsi will debut our highly anticipated and hugely powerful turbocharged 2.5-litre, five-cylinder, all-wheel drive super Golf, backed by Rory Atkinson and Matt Merton in a pair of standard new Volkswagen Golf 8.5 GTIs. Built by Michael Allers, its highly modified engine uses specialised components from Bartek in Germany with management from our trusted partner, MoTeC, and a SADEV ST4-917 all-wheel drive transmission.”

PVW will be at the event to capture the car’s long-awaited debut; stay tuned for more…