A new report claims Volkswagen is hard at work to produce a Golf R hot hatch based on the Mk8 Golf. The 2023 Golf R will supposedly have to do battle against the likes of Mercedes-AMG A45, Honda Civic Type R, and Hyundai i30 N with underpinnings from the newly-launched Mk8 Golf GTI.

It might have lost a big name, but the hot hatch scene is still, well, hot

The Mercedes-AMG A 45 is more powerful than ever. The Civic Type R is still a hot hatch that’s nothing to play with and Hyundai is riding on high horses with the N-badged i30. And despite that fact that we won’t have a fourth-generation Focus RS, Volkswagen is eyeing for domination in the segment with a new Golf R.

Australia’s Which Car? reports that the eight-gen Golf R should come in two years’ time with a $60,000 sticker and underpinnings borrowed from the new GTI.

Those underpinnings include the powertrain as well. The new Mk8 Golf GTI is developed around a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four mill tuned to produce 241 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque (these are EU-spec figures, but the hot hatch is coming to the U.S. later in 2021).

The same outlet quotes “leaked internal documents” that say the incoming Golf R will keep hold of the 2.0-liter four-pot, albeit in a souped-up version good for 245 kilowatts (329 horsepower).

To deliver that sort of grunt and still abide by the EU’s emissions regulations, the VW Golf R+ will have to pack a hybrid powertrain, with an additional e-motor spinning the rear axle to keep the car’s all-wheel-drive flavour unaltered.

It’s way too early to talk about such a solution, but as Motor1 points out, VW showed us that it’s possible with the 409-horsepower 2017 Golf GTI First Decade.

Photo credit: Emre Husmen on Behance