---
title: "Watch a Stock 2022 Golf R Hit 180 MPH on the Autobahn"
description: "We can’t wait to get our hands on the newest model of this hot hatch, coming to the US later this year."
date: "2021-04-03"
modified: "2021-04-03"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin V. Shaw"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kristin-shaw"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/40046/watch-a-stock-2022-golf-r-hit-180-mph-on-the-autobahn"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Volkswagen News"
  - "Watch This"
tags:
  - "compact"
  - "Golf R"
  - "Hatchback"
  - "sports car"
  - "Volkswagen"
---

# Watch a Stock 2022 Golf R Hit 180 MPH on the Autobahn

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2021/04/VW-golf-hero-1.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

That lucky guy from Germany-based Automann-TV got to take a new stock [Volkswagen Golf R](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/22864/2018-volkswagen-golf-r-test-drive-review-vw-builds-a-hot-hatch-metaphor-for-adult-sense-and-sensibility>) on the [Autobahn](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/39981/the-drive-and-blipshifts-new-autobahn-stormer-merch-will-have-you-singing-meister-meister>), an enviable luxury. First, he completed a 0-60 mph test, hitting the top of the range in 4.09 seconds on a straightaway. Then he took the performance-geared hatchback on the highway for its high-speed run, kissing 180 miles per hour (289 kilometers per hour). *Ja, das ist schnell* (that’s fast).

Automann noted that the GPS registered 172 mph (277 kph) and that since the speed is electronically limited, it could potentially go even faster if unleashed.

![message-editor%2F1617480007704-vwgolfinline2.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1617480007704-vwgolfinline2.jpg>)
**YouTube screencap Automann-TV**

[The Golf](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/21253/report-2020-volkswagen-golf-r-could-have-400-horsepower>) first rolled off the assembly line in Wolfsburg in 1974, spawning a love affair with the little hatch. If the Golf had a [McDonald’s](<https://www.wired.com/story/mcdonalds-drive-thru-mymcdonalds-app/>)-style sign above it at headquarters, it would say “tens of millions served” as more than 35 million have been sold. Originally, the Golf had a 1.5-liter four-cylinder powerplant and a top speed of 95 miles per hour.

In 2012, VW launched the new [Golf R](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/29314/the-volkswagen-golf-r-has-died-so-the-next-generation-model-may-live>) variant with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and a top speed of 147 mph. The same engine was used in the Audi TTS, but the Golf with 256 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque (Audi’s TTS produces 265 and 258, respectively). For 2022, VW mated the engine to your choice of a six-speed manual gearbox (hello) or a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and the all-new model will reach 315 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque.

![message-editor%2F1617480022416-vwgolfinline3.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1617480022416-vwgolfinline3.jpg>)
**Volkswagen**

On this Autobahn run, Automann equipped the Golf R with summer tires. He had already tested it back in December with wide winter tires on a damp track with results that were not this quick. The latest run shows once again that the Golf R is underrated; [Archie Hamilton Racing put theirs on the dyno](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ5rmIcJBIY>) just a couple of weeks ago to find that it’s capable of producing about 20 additional horsepower than Volkswagen claims.

[As we reported in November](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/37409/2022-vw-golf-r-the-315-hp-hot-hatch-keeps-the-manual-adds-drift-mode>), North Americans buy the GTI and R at almost the same rates as we have standard Golfs. Volkswagen says the 2022 Golf R will launch Stateside with the 2022 GTI later this year. With torque vectoring and Drift mode, this tiny-but-mighty car is going to find itself careening all over the country before long.

*Got a tip? Send the writer a note: kristin.shaw@thedrive.com*

## Author
Kristin Shaw is the former Weekend Editor for The Drive and a current freelancer in both the automotive and aviation worlds. She’s a big fan of anything car-related and calls on her technology background on the corporate side to explain engineering and high-tech concepts. Now living in her sixth state (New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, and now Texas), she is thrilled that working from home is now mainstream.

### Author social links  
[Facebook](<https://facebook.com/DriveModeShow>)  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/KristinVShaw>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/KristinVShaw>)