New VW Golf GTI Edition 50 costs £47,995

• Edition 50 marks half century since the first VW Golf GTI
• Available to order from January 15th
• Fastest-ever Volkswagen around the Nurburgring Nordschleife
• Priced from £47,995

The most expensive and most powerful VW Golf GTI ever goes on sale on January 15th.

The Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50, as its names suggests, celebrates 50 years of VW's iconic GTI cars, and is a special edition model that will only be produced during 2026. It's pricey, with a starting cost of £47,995 – more than £1000 more than a Golf R and nearly £4000 more than a GTI Clubsport – but promises performance that you won't be able to get from any other VW hot hatch.

That performance is 325PS and 420Nm of torque from its turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, equating to a 0-62mph time of 5.3 seconds and a top speed of 168mph.

As well as the extra power, the Edition 50 gets uprated suspension that sits 15mm lower than the standard Golf GTI, while adaptive chassis control is standard. The seven-speed gearbox also gets an S+ mode for optimum downshits and a manual M+ mode that limits automatic upshifts.

Visually, the Edition 50 includes the option of an exclusive Dark Moss green paintwork, red flazed 19-inch alloy wheels, GTI 50 badges dotted around the exterior and interior, exclusive seat trim and red pedals and seatbelts.

Want more? There's an optional Performance Package that reduces weight and further enhances the driving experience with semi-slick tyres, forged Warmenau 19-inch black alloy wheels, twin Akrapovic exhausts and further lowered suspension.