This chapter is about the UK market, where no less than four Golf models arrive with sporty ambitions and right-hand drive. Of course, as the company rightfully says, the “four new trims – the Golf GTI Clubsport, R, R Estate and R Black Edition – include some of the most powerful production cars Volkswagen currently produces.” All of them can be ordered starting August 8 across nationwide retailers, and the prices are both steep and climbing.

So, the fresh Golf GTI Clubsport starts from £41,655 (on-the-road recommended retail price, including VAT), which is the equivalent of almost $53k at the current exchange rates. You get the 300-ps (296 hp) Golf GTI Clubsport just a few weeks after its gala unveiling at a Nürburgring-based motorsport event and packs bespoke design elements such as the Clubsport front bumper and honeycomb air-intake grille, animated LED taillights, plus 18-inch Richmond alloy wheels.

Under the hood, the 2.0-liter turbo TSI is combined with the classic seven-speed direct-shift gearbox (DSG) to enable a sprint to 62 mph (100 kph) in 5.6 seconds and a maximum speed of 155 mph (250 kph). Moving on, the new Golf R and Golf R Estate have a DCC adaptive chassis control system, exclusive equipment, and 4Motion all-wheel drive with R-Performance Torque Vectoring. There’s 333 ps (328 hp) under the hood, as well as an optional 167-mph (269 kph) top speed when selecting the available R-Performance package.

Pricing starts from £43,320 and £44,685 for the Golf R and the station wagon version, respectively, which translates to $55k and almost $57k, respectively. It’s going to be interesting to see the MSRP for the US-specific Golf R; the pre-facelift version kicks off at a much lower $45,665, by the way. Last but not least, there’s also a Golf R Black Edition complementing the performance lineup. It has the same performance cues – TSI with 333 ps, seven-speed DSG, and 4Motion AWD, but adorns them with dark exterior touches (including on the badges and brake calipers), black 19-inch Estoril alloy wheels, darkened IQ.Light LED matrix headlights and a big roof spoiler. The price starts at £44,570, which is the equivalent of $56,589 at the current exchange rate.