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This DSG model features an additional heat exchanger positioned on the driver side lower air dam. This additional heat exchanger cools the DSG fluid. On the passenger side lower air dam there is a small auxiliary radiator that serves to increase heat rejection capacity of the engine's cooling system.This car is equipped with the DSG transmission and VW is nice enough to put an air to oil DSG fluid cooler on the driver's side of the car. On the opposite side, there is an auxiliary engine coolant radiator to help increase the EA888's heat rejection capacity. The engine oil is cooled with an oil to coolant heat exchanger located under the intake manifold. This car was definitely engineered to perform well when being pushed.
The molded in aero ducting on the lower valance seems to direct some air towards the brakes. It doesn't look like the most effective brake cooling setup, but it's better than nothing.Volkswagen did put some effort into under car aero with the molding of airflow directing ducts. Just how functional these ducts are is still in question, but at least they made an effort when so many manufacturers don't.
The heart of the 4MOTION AWD system is this beast right here. The rear differential and the Haldex coupling contained within. The Haldex coupling is an electro-hydraulic clutch system that can vary lockup almost infinitely to vary torque split from front to rear. This AWD system uses very advanced predictive controls that will send power where it needs to be based on all of the information it has at its disposal such as speed, direction and steering input. This system works very well.The Golf R uses a 4MOTION AWD system with the addition of a Haldex coupling. The Haldex coupling has the ability to lock up completely for a 50/50 longitudinal power split or allow some slippage in the coupling for times where less rear drive is determined by the computer to be necessary. When cruising around town the Haldex will be completely decoupled to reduce driveline drag and improve fuel economy. The coupling is hydraulic and the rear differential has an electric driven hydraulic pump to provide clamping pressure.
The selectable drive modes provide more than just a placebo effect. The car can be placed into S mode by simply pulling the center shift selector rearward. This increases the engine RPM as well as opens up the outer exhaust tips on the quad exhaust. The exhaust valve flaps are a feature that seem almost unnecessary due to the almost indistinguishable difference in noise level from the interior compartment. The exhaust is very quiet on this car and might need some aftermarket attention in the future.
The MKVII Golf R certainly holds a lot of promise as a performance car and the understated nature of the hatchback styling make this car a nice sleeper that will not get too much attention. There are a few really good improvements in the pipeline for this project car and we can’t wait to unlock more performance from this well engineered platform.
