THEIR LAW

Whatever Volkswagen turned its hand to in motorsport for the past decade has all been about taking winning very seriously. From the Polo in WRC to World Rallycross to the Pikes Peak and Nürburgring record-breaking ID.R, they’ve blazed a trail and left everyone else to pick up the scraps. Over in South Africa, that theme paused unsurprisingly at the end of the 2019 season – with Jettas winning their Touring Car Championship.

Next step and top marks then to whichever super-creative designer came up with this successor Mk8 Golf GTI because it looks stunning. A fraction of readers will know that this car was unveiled in 2020 and yet it’s still absolutely fresh. Blending corporate grilleinspired honeycomb livery with blue-hues harking back to the VW Motorsport Mk2 Golf past, round arch extensions, the body-coloured profiled chin spoiler and its curves to run the eye, obligatory big ‘G’ wing – we can’t print that word anymore - and the massive screenstrip telling everyone loud and clear that this is a manufacturer-endorsed corporate chariot coming in hot. What a result. Moody, multicoloured, simmering with mods, pummelling the mind with the message that what lies beneath is only ever going to be serious. With its heavy outward protein bulk up, it looks fast standing still, and even better on the move.

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