The all-new 2022 Volkswagen Golf R is expected to arrive late this year will offer more power than any Golf R to date, with 315 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. To ensure that power gets to the road properly, Volkswagen engineers have designed a new 4Motion® all-wheel-drive system with rear-axle torque vectoring. This serves as the foundation for the updated handling abilities of the Golf R, delivering a new level of performance for its category.
The standard 4Motion all-wheel-drive systems in the prior Golf R can send up to 50 percent of the engine’s total power to the rear axle. The differential from the 4Motion drive system normally transfers the power in a 50:50 ratio via a multi-plate clutch to the left and the right-hand rear wheels, even as the differential lets them rotate at different speeds when cornering.
The new torque vectoring system in the 2022 Golf R uses a rear differential with two multiplate clutches that can now distribute up to 100 percent of the rear torque to an individual rear wheel. This system is designed to decide how to apportion power between the wheels based on speed, power application, yaw and other factors. In a typical corner, the system can direct more power to the wheel on the outside of the curve in a matter of milliseconds, reducing the cornering radius.
