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A limited edition, 210bhp, 227Km/h four wheeled drive Super Golf was launched by Volkswagen Motorsport in 1989. When VW build a seriously quick Golf they don't scream about it from the rooftops. Just look at the plain-looking G60 Limited Edition. To the casual observer it's just a black five-door GTI with a blue-trimmed grille. Surely such an innocuous looking Mk 2 can't be anything too special? Okay, well try this for size. Four-wheel drive. Supercharged 16V. 210bhp. 227Km/h top speed. One of only 70 versions built by VW Motorsport. It must be the ultimate example of a sleeper. Best of all, is how the heads of VW introduced the G60 Limited Edition to the press. In typical understated fashion, the head of VW Motorsport, Klaus-Peter Rosorius commented that the idea behind the project was to build ´a nice elegant-looking Golf without any exterior alterations, that incorporated a number of interesting under bonnet changes.' Who else but Volkswagen would describe a fire-breathing 210bhp supercharged 16V engine as 'interesting'?! In fact the Limited Edition is easily the most 'interesting' Mk 2 Golf ever built. For Starters it wasn't built an the main Wolfsburg production line, but at VW Motorsport's main base in Hanover. Each car was hand assembled by their motorsport technicians, with each taking a week to complete (during which time Wolfsburg could churn out several thousand cars).

THE STARTING POINT was a bodyshell featuring both Golf Rallye and Golf Syncro five-door features - the inner wheel arches for example are from the Rallye, while the outer wheelarches are standard Syncro-style items (rather than the flared arches and spats employed an the two-wheel drive G60). The windscreen too is a Rallye-style bonded-in item and is Said to add a little torsional rigidity to the bodyshell. small bumpers (much lighter than the deep bumpers found on facelift models) Only seventy of these lovinglycrafted Mk 2 Golfs were constructed, each being sprayed in metallic black and featuring a blue-trimmed grille. This was unusual in itself as it was a 'twin lamp' item rather than the quadheadlamp version sported by all other high-performance Mk 2 Golfs bar the Rallye. In fact, other than the tasty split-rim BBS alloys, the only exterior clue that this was no 'ordinary' Golf was just a couple of discreet VW Motorsport badges attached to the grille and rear panel.

In fact to the average Joe in the street, to all intents and purposes the Limited could be just a five-door GTI with different badges and a blue-rimmed grille. Which is just the way VW wanted it to be. Under the bonnet, you get the first indication of just how wild Limited really is.

Shoehorned into the engine bay is a 16V engine mated up to a VW Motorsport-tweaked G-Lader supercharger, cooled by a Rallye intercooler and a large capacity radiator. An individually-numbered engraved plaque indicates the particular Limited, The plaque has the VW Motorsport logo and the number of the car. (1-70). Transmitting the power to the ground is a VW Motorsport clutch and the 02A cable-change gearbox found in the Rallye (and said to be notchier than the GTI-style rod-change 'box), which has a reputation for being bulletproof. A Rallye-style braking system comprising beefy 280mm front vented discs, rear discs, and ABS helps haul the car down from its Autobahn storming 227Km/h top speed. Although the exterior of the car is pretty frill-free, the same can't be said for the interior, which boasts a whole load of electronic gadgets. As it should: at the time the Limited's purchase price was double that of a Golf GTI 16V (which retailed at around 3700Euro). Limited interior in black leather trimmed seats (the front ones being heated), with power-steering, electric windows and mirrors being standard equipment. Naturally, centrallocking is standard, as is a sunroof and an electric headlamplevelling control. The leather trim also extends to the doorcards, handbrake cover, steering wheel rim and the gearlever gaiten.

The only clue to the performance of the car is provided by the VW Motorsport gearknob. Until very recently, this was the most powerful production Volkswagen ever made (The R32 4Motion produces 240BHP.