Volkswagen’s new Mark VI Golf and GTI have been around in Europe for almost a year now, which means we all expected to see the R version to be unveiled at the Frankfurt Autoshow this week. Well as usual, it hit the web a little early. Here are photos of the production Volkswagen R20. Notice the carried over twin exhaust pipes, the deeper front spoiler and almost Porsche Turbo-looking wheels.

Exact specs are still up in the air. We do know that it will be powered by a 2.0T rumored to be putting out as much as 270hp. That will likely be a conservative number, and the car could be capable of almost 350hp with a software flash and bolt-on modifications. We also have it on good authority the car will definitely be all-wheel drive and will be available with a traditional manual.

The third pedal is no surprise after the beating VW suffered from enthusiasts on the DSG only MKV R32. While we prefer DSG it seems like enthusiasts feel threatened by a computer operating the clutch for them. Oh well, the DSG is still rated a tenth of a click faster to 60mph at 6.4 seconds.

This R Golf will offer enthusiasts a more tunable platform than the previous R32. It will be interesting to see where the price lands. The photos show a car equipped with two-tone cloth interior, will VW be able to sell one of these for right around the 30 grand mark? With a loaded GTI creeping up there already, they may be worried about cannibalizing sales of the front drive platform.

As big of fans as we are of the R32, this is certainly the best alternative for Volkswagen. The customers want a tuner car like the EVO and STI, but with the quality and driving experience of a German car. We don’t expect this for at least another year in North America, but we can’t wait to see what happens when they start popping up in Europe. The Rallye Golf was a long time ago, and we have been waiting to see a real suitable replacement.