Volkswagen loves an excuse to mark major milestones in the Golf’s lineage. It launched the GTI Clubsport at the 2024 Nurburgring 24 Hours to celebrate the hatchback’s 50th anniversary, which it then followed up with the Edition 50 a year later to commemorate half a century of the GTI at the same event. Now, Sam’s had a go in it, and that’s where we’ll be kicking off today’s episode of The Gassing Station Podcast.
You’ll likely know about the anniversary GTI models, which usually entail upping the power a touch and sharpening up the handling. And that’s no different for the new Edition 50, which bumps the Mk8.5 GTI up to 325hp and 310lb ft, making it the most powerful production GTI ever made. Not only that, but the Edition 50 has lapped the Nurburgring a whole six seconds faster than the mighty Clubsport S from 2016, all while lugging around three extra seats. Safe to say Sam was impressed, and you can read his review of the Edition 50 here, although there are some behind-the-scenes insights you’ll only get if you listen to the pod.
Next up, we run through our recent feature on the best used sports cars to buy in 2026. The goal here is to cover as many price points as possible, with the cheapest option being this Lotus Esprit for £28,750. Of course, you may be able to find something more supercar-ish for less if you look hard enough, but you’ll be venturing into Brave Pill territory if you do. Things get a whole lot wilder from there, with a Dodge Viper, Audi R8 V10 Spider and McLaren 650S all making the cut. We won’t spoil the full rundown, but you can read about each car and click on the listings at the link here.
Rounding things off is our usual buying challenge, only this week we’ve got a seriously healthy budget to play with. PHer Zero7 has around £85,000 to spend on a weekend car to go alongside their FL5 Honda Civic Type R, and would be keen to find something that delivers a ‘visceral experience’. Sam’s gone for this Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder, which may be a little on the predictable side but nails the brief to a tee for £84,995. My pick goes to this McLaren GT (which has since sold, hopefully to Zero7) for £82,995, which is not only more practical than the Boxster, but it also has more cylinders and more power while being £2k cheaper. You can submit your own suggestions in the topic here but, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, do please give the podcast a listen first…