I find it unsettling to call a car the 2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI Rabbit Edition. The name Rabbit actually was an official designation in the U.S. for the car otherwise known as the Golf. In some strange world of mine, the name of this new car sounds like Golf GTI Golf Edition. Nonsense aside, the Volkswagen Golf GTI Rabbit Edition celebrates the Rabbit nameplate and it may be one of the last specials of the Volkswagen Golf GTI for this generation. In the name of exclusivity, Volkswagen announced it capped the Golf GTI Rabbit Edition to only 3,000 units (they’ll sell it all really fast) and it will make it available throughout the country. So hurry up.

Exterior

Available in three-door and five-door guises, the Golf GTI Rabbit Edition features a few distinctive additions that differentiate it from the other “normal” GTIs. Other changes are basically nonexistent, but one can order only four different finishes for the car - Cornflower Blue, Urano Grey, Pure White, or Deep Black.

Interior

Nothing major changed on the inside either. In fact, Volkswagen was rather stingy with its interior decorations for the Golf GTI Rabbit Edition. Apart from new floor mats, and seat decoration, Volkswagen threw in a proximity key and push-button start. This package comes with LED headlights as well.

Drivetrain

Although Volkswagen did not say a thing about the engine powering the Golf GTI Rabbit Edition, I am quite sure it still uses a 2.0-liter TSI engine that develops 220 horsepower. You could probably spec it with the manual or the DSG transmission as with the standard Golf GTI. This engine, with 258 pound-feet of torque, will motivate the GTI to 62 mph in 6.5 seconds and provide enough grunt for a top speed of 150ish mph.

Price

The least expensive Golf GTI starts at $26,415. Considering that the Rabbit Edition is a limited edition model with a few added goodies for the right measure, I can confidently say that its price will hover somewhere at $30,000. Of course, if it does sport the 220 horsepower engine, anyway. Remember, the Golf GTI can be quite costly with its price nearing $40,000 for the loaded up Autobahn model.

Conclusion

The Volkswagen Golf GTI Rabbit Edition is a nice homage to a name that clearly echoes through Volkswagen enthusiasts ears to this day. While the additional equipment added to the GTI to make it the Rabbit Edition isn’t as numerous as one may hope, limiting production to 3,000 units definitely upped the exclusivity factor of the car. This may well be the last hooray for the GTI as the car will be replaced soon after the introduction of the eight generation of the Golf. That model has already been seen in the prototype form testing in Germany.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2017 Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Read our full review on the 2018 Volkswagen Golf

Read more Volkswagen news.