VW Golf R400 (or R420) will be a limited edition Golf

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It seems that the range-topping Volkswagen Golf R400 (or probably the Golf R420) will be built in limited numbers when it arrives for 2017.

The Volkswagen Golf R 400 arrived at the Beijing Motor Show last year as a concept for a powerful range-topping Golf, a Golf able to take the fight to cars like the Mercedes AMG A45 and the Audi RS3 with a 400 PS 2.0 litre turbo and 0-62mph in just 3.9 seconds.

Within a week, VW’s R&D boss, Heinz-Jakob Neusser, confirmed what many of us suspected – that the Golf R400 previewed a production model and wasn’t just a concept to show what the Golf could be – and we were expecting the production version to arrive in Frankfurt later this year.

What we also discovered in the last year is that the Golf R400 would probably end up being the Golf R420, thanks to a boost in power for the production model to 420 PS (416bhp), which would make it even more appealing.

But according to French website L’Automobile Sportive, the Golf R400 won’t arrive in production guise until 2017, as VW plan to deliver it at the same time as the facelift for the Golf.

What the French motoring scribes also discovered from a source at VW is that the R400 won’t be a full production model, but will be a limited run of cars at a premium price.

We reckoned the R400 was likely to come with a £40k price tag, but if the limited run decision is right, we could see the R400 getting a price tag closer to £50k.

Which, although an appealing car, does seem a mighty price for a Golf, even a Golf that puts most supercars to shame on the performance front.