Fun vehicles are nonetheless promoting robust. Audi R8 sales doubled in the United States final 12 months whereas demand for the Miata shot up by 50 percent. Even the traditional Nissan GT-R loved a 584 p.c hike in reputation and BMW Z4 roadster deliveries elevated by 20.2 p.c.

Volkswagen of America is pleased to report its scorching hatches additionally noticed an upward development in 2023. The Grand Tourer Injection noticed its gross sales bounce by 7.6 p.c to 7,451 models however the actual star was the Golf R. Volume grew by a whopping 116 p.c, reaching 3,238 models.

VW did not present a breakdown on gross sales by gearbox within the press launch, however we have reached out and realized about half of GTI patrons opted for the stick shift and 40 p.c of R house owners wished the third pedal. It’s price mentioning the handbook goes away, leaving solely the DSG. When the GTI 380 special edition was introduced on the finish of final August, it served because the swan music for the GTI’s handbook gearbox. The firm additionally mentioned 2024 can be the final mannequin 12 months for the six-speed Golf R.

The demise of the handbook might partially clarify why the GTI and R had been in excessive demand final 12 months. That would make sense contemplating gross sales in This fall 2023 had been up by 76.5 p.c for the GTI and by 480.1 p.c for the R in comparison with This fall 2022.

But what if the handbook isn’t going away in spite of everything? Autocar reported final October the loosened Euro 7 laws might need satisfied VW to keep the do-it-yourself gearbox alive. The not-for-America commonplace Golf is days away from receiving a mid-cycle facelift, so we must always have a solution fairly quickly. However, it is unclear whether or not the GTI and R will debut along with the common fashions. Even if that will not be the case, the efficiency fashions cannot be far behind.

The forthcoming Golf Mk8.5 will seemingly be the final replace for the quintessential compact automotive within the ICE period. VW has already introduced the Mk9 shall be electric-only on the Group’s Scalable Systems Platform, with manufacturing beginning in 2028. The firm has promised the GTI and R badges will stay into the zero-emission period. In truth, an electric GTI model is coming as early as 2026.