Volkswagen’s Mk8 Golf GTI GTC Is Heading To The Track

Volkswagen has wasted no time making the Mk8 Golf race ready: this is the GTI GTC that will compete in Africa’s Global Touring Car championship.

The German brand has previously been racing the Jetta in the series but as the Jetta is no longer built in right-hand drive, it has opted to replace it with the new Golf 8 GTI. Many key technical specifications about the GTI GTC remain under wraps but it certainly looks like quite the animal.

Underpinning the car is a chrome-moly tubular chassis but as it stands, no powertrain details are known.

All vehicles competing in the GTC championship feature a common chassis, running gear, a single ECU to control performance, as well as common tires, suspension, and other components. As a result, it is really a battle between drivers and not between cars.

Volkswagen Motorsport will run two Golf 8 GTIs in the premiere GTC1 class of the racing series. The vehicles will be driven by 2019 GTC1 champion Keagan Masters and 2016 GTC2 champion Daniel Rowe. The start of the 2020 GTC championship was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic but it is hoped that the season will kick off in August with the first round likely taking place at Zwartkops Raceway in Johannesburg.

“For the past four years we have been racing with the Jetta,” head of the Volkswagen brand in South Africa, Martina Biene said in a statement. “Since the Jetta is no longer offered in right-hand drive markets, we had to find an appropriate successor and that is where the idea to use the Golf 8 GTI came from. Even though the Golf 8 GTI will only be officially launched and available from South African dealers in 2021, we wanted to use this opportunity to showcase the Golf 8 GTI’s performance attributes ahead of the local market introduction.”