Watch VW Golf GTI Clubsport Drag Race Hyundai I30 N

The hot hatch segment remains hot in Europe. In this video, Daniel Abt collects the Performance of the Hyundai i30 N and Volkswagen GTI Clubsport for a series of drag races. The video is in German, but the subtitles are of good enough quality to make understandable what happened.

Starting with the specs, the i30 N Performance produces 271 horsepower (202 kilowatts) and 279 pound-feet (378 Newton-meters) of torque from the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. This one has a six-speed manual instead of the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox available on the current version. The car weighs 3,150 pounds (1,429 kilograms).

By comparison, the GTI Clubsport has 296 hp (221 kW) and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of power also coming from a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. It has a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox. The VW weighs 3,221 pounds (1,461 kilograms).

The quarter-mile drag races started the challenge, and the GTI Clubsport immediately showed its power. Wheelspin causes the i30 N to have a poor start. While VW slid down the track with a time of 13.26 seconds. The Hyundai takes 15.0 seconds to cover the distance.

Next, they raced the 800 meters (0.497 miles). Even though the distance was roughly twice the distance of the first run, the result in the finish was the same. GTI Clubsport took the lead and covered the distance in 20.44 seconds. i30 N takes 22.44 seconds to complete the run.

They then returned to running the 800 meter race. This time, the i30N was slightly faster by completing the distance in 21.98 seconds. However, GTI Clubsport also improved its timing and ran in 20.30 seconds, which gave it another win.

The final challenge is a rolling race of 60 kilometers per hour (37.28 miles per hour). This is the closest race. The i30 N actually took an early lead but briefly. Then, GTI Clubsport raced to win again.

VW does not offer the Clubsport variant of the GTI in the US, but the regular variant is available with 241 hp (180 kW). The I30 N is also not available to American buyers. The closest comparison is the Elantra N with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 276 hp (206 kW).