<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Wolfsburg, Germany\u2014Now we&amp;#039;re talking. As its blue speedometer needle claws doggedly toward 240 km/h down a rain-slick section of Autobahn outside of Wolfsburg, there&amp;#039;s an eerie calm inside the Golf R. No, it&amp;#039;s plenty exciting, as the turbocharged direct-injected 2.0-liter inline-4 feeds a peak of 270 bhp through the 4Motion all-wheel-drive system, with a finely attenuated howl swirling from the twin tailpipes, but the oddly calm part comes from what feels like hands-off stability at these speeds. That said, I&amp;#039;m not about to test the theory; my mitts stay planted at 9 and 3 on the thickly padded D-shaped wheel.   Our test drive is all too brief; a heady 15-minute blast down the Autobahn, with the only true bends consisting of on- and offramps and a U-turn after the driver change, but it&amp;#039;s a savory taste nonetheless of the most wicked production the factory has ever bolted together. It ought to easily dust the last R variant to see U.S. shores....the R32, whose 250-bhp 3.2-liter VR6 seemed to offer only incremental performance gains over the already highly satisfying Golf GTI. The engineers at R GmbH quote a 0\u2013100 km/h (0\u201362 mph) sprint of just 5.5 seconds, and less weight over the front axle is almost always a good thing.   The powerplant, which has crisp throttle response and minimal turbo lag, comes mated to the twin-clutch DSG transmission whose sneeze-quick upchanges and perfect auto-blip downshifts will make you feel like the second coming of Tazio Nuvolari. In Sport mode, it nearly obviates the need for shift paddles but they&amp;#039;re there on the wheel for more precise control. Ride motions are nicely taut, yet there&amp;#039;s a beautiful suppleness and finely tuned rebound shock valving that keep the Dunlop Sport Maxx tires, size 235/35R-19, in reassuring contact with the road over high-speed heaves. A touch of the console-mounted button controlling the optional Adaptive Chassis Control will firm things further, but even the Comfort mode will satisfy day-to-day.   The R looks the part too, with a chunky front fascia gulping cooling air through oversize slatted corner inlets trimmed with white daytime running lights. Darkly tinted LED taillight clusters, gloss black rearview mirror housings, the twin tailpipes, a roof spoiler and that fender-filling wheel/tire package all add up to a mean countenance. Inside, there are fantastically bolstered high-back seats (racing shells optional), that fat 3-spoke wheel, stainless steel pedal covers and R logos in various places, including embroidery on the headrests and etched in the aluminum interior trim.   Racy and youthful, yes. But the driving experience is, thankfully, for grown-ups, as the guiding principle of R GmbH is to not necessarily build the fastest car on the planet, but to strive for a balance of overall performance, value and high quality. And in that regard, they&amp;#039;ve pretty much nailed it. It&amp;#039;s a shame we can&amp;#039;t have it right now, but the probability is high that it will come to U.S. shores. Keep your fingers crossed for the 2012 model year, as this one&amp;#039;s worth waiting for. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives/reviews/a16652/2011-volkswagen-golf-r/>