The Volkswagen Golf R Named Hot Hatch of The Year

The Volkswagen Golf R has scooped the Hot Hatch of the Year honour at the TopGear Awards hosted by the TV show's presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

The Volkswagen Golf R was singled out in a hotly contested category due to its mix of dynamic ability, its powerful and charismatic engine and everyday refinement. In deciding the winner of the category the judges found the Volkswagen Golf R to be 'extraordinarily good at so many things'.

On hand to collect the Award was Dr. Hendrik Muth, Head of Marketing and Communications at Volkswagen R - the special projects wing of Volkswagen tasked with designing and developing R products.

Dr. Muth commented: "This is the third generation of Golf R and the fastest and most focused yet; we designed it to appeal to keen drivers exactly like the judges at TopGear. On behalf of Volkswagen and Volkswagen R it's a real honour for the Golf to be recognised with such an award."

Powered by a 2.0-litre TSI engine developing 270 PS and 350 Nm (258 lbs ft) of torque the Volkswagen Golf R is equipped with a sophisticated 4MOTION system. This allows it to sprint from a standstill to 62 mph in 5.5 seconds when specified with a six-speed DSG gearbox, making it the fastest accelerating production Volkswagen Golf ever.

To match the extra power, the Volkswagen Golf R features a series of upgrades to its springs, dampers, gearbox software, braking system and styling to ensure that it both looks and feels sharper than the standard car.

The Volkswagen Golf R takes the TopGear crown from the Volkswagen Golf GTI which won the Hot Hatch category in 2009.