VW Golf GTI Clubsport S sold out 04 | 08 | 2016

VOLKSWAGEN’S RANGE-TOPPING Golf GTI Clubsport S has old out. Almost as soon as the car had been released , VW confirmed all 150 UK examples of the £33,995 Clubsport S had been snapped up.

The lucky UK customers — there are only 400 models being sold worldwide, and according to VW, the GTI’s popularity is ”unmatched anywhere else in the world" — will start taking delivery of their hardcore two-seater in October.

Designed to celebrate 40 years of the iconic hot hatchback, the newcomer  builds on the already potent 261bhp Clubsport.

Fitted with a retuned 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which boosts power to 306bhp and torque to 380Nm, drive to the the Clubsport S is through the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.

According to VW, it’s capable of 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds, and accelerating on to a top speed of 165mph.

Weight in the Clubsport S has been reduced by 30kg over the already-extreme Clubsport, by removing the rear seats: the car now tips the scales at just 1360kg.

VW makes no bones about the fact the Clubsport S has been engineered for lap times at the Nurburgring - where it has posted a time of 7m 49.21sec. That’s a record for a front-wheel-drive production car, around a second and a half under the previous benchmark set by the Honda Civic Type R.

It’s also fitted with a bespoke ‘Nurburgring setting’ in the Clubsport S’s Dynamic Chassis Control system, which adjusts the suspension and steering profiles.

Available in three colours that hark back to the original Mk1 GTI, you can get — well, could have bought — the Clubsport S in red, white and black.

Inside the cabin, there’s bucket seats, bespoke ‘Honeycomb 40’ decals and an Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel. Exterior tweaks include different front bumpers, a roof spoiler and a rear diffuser.

Related: New hardtops for VW Amarok

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news by following us on twitter.com/Scotcars

Jim McGill