THE Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50- a special anniversary model to celebrate 50 years of the German brand's iconic GTI cars - will be priced from £47,995 when it goes on sale.

The new Volkswagen is a one-off, special-edition Golf GTI and production is scheduled during 2026 only to coincide with the 50th anniversary year of GTI.

It is the fastest and most powerful production Golf GTI built to date and has a 2.0 TSI engine, paired with a seven-speed automatic direct-shift gearbox tuned to produce 325ps and 420 Nm of torque - enough to accelerate to 62 mph in just 5.3 seconds and reach a top speed of 168 mph, where permitted.

The car is fitted with Volkswagen's adaptive chassis control system and it sits 15 mm lower than the standard Golf GTI and its overall weight of 1,930 kg is on a par with the current Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport.

Special drive modes and settings are on offer in addition to the eco, comfort, sport and individual profiles already familiar to many Volkswagen drivers.

The GTIEdition 50gains a Nurburgring mode that is designed for track driving - and in particular the infamous Nordschleife circuit.

There is also an S+ mode for the gearbox, for optimum downshifts going into track corners, and a manual M+ mode that limits automatic gear upshifting even at high revs.

The Golf GTIEdition 50has already written itself into the history books of the Nurburgring and the Volkswagen brand.

Racing driver Benny Leuchter completed a lap of the Nordschleife in June 2025 with a near-production version of the car in just seven minutes 46.13 seconds - the fastest time so far round the Green Hell track for any road-approved Volkswagen.

"The Golf GTIEdition 50is a statement with which Volkswagen expresses the pure GTI idea - the combination of superior drive power and highly precise chassis with front-wheel drive - more effectively than ever before," said Benny Leuchter after his record-breaking drive.