The 2022 Volkswagen Golf R receives the 4Motion system with torque vectoring

The new 2022 Volkswagen Golf R will offer more power than any Golf R to date, with 311bhp and 420Nm 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% 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 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% 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 corner, the system can direct more power to the outside wheel, reducing the cornering radius.

For the first time, the 4Motion system has been connected to the Vehicle Dynamics Manager, an intelligent system that in the Golf R integrates the torque vectoring axle, the electronic differential locks and cornering performance of the adaptive damping system.

The Vehicle Dynamics Manager monitors the vehicle handling on every corner, adapting individual wheel damping up to 200 times a second, and can use a combination of selected single-wheel braking or the torque vectoring clutches to correct moments of oversteer or understeer.

The torque vectoring technology was the key enabler of the new track-only 'Drift' mode in the updated Driving Mode Selection. In that mode, the Golf R changes its stability control parameters, and the torque vectoring system kicks off the drift by sending all available rear torque to the outside wheel.

To help ensure that the profile is only selected on private roads, the infotainment system always displays a confirmation prompt before it is activated. The Golf R also has a new 'Special' setting configured for highest performance around Germany's famed Nurburgring Nordschleife race track, with torque vectoring optimised for the track's cornering profile, along with softer suspension damping settings.