Practice makes perfect, and the old adage is no less true in the automotive world. Quite simply, the longer and more often you do something, the better you are at it - that's why Porsche has honed the art of the sports car to perfection in the 911 and Mercedes-Benz has mastered the full-size luxury sedan in the S-Class. Likewise, Volkswagen has gradually perfected the hatchback recipe with the enduring Golf over the last six decades. That expertise culminated in the 20 Years edition of the Golf R launched this year, the most powerful production Golf yet. Now, the Volkswagen R YouTube team has given us a deeper technical insight into the development of this special hot hatch.

A quick recap of the Volkswagen Golf R 20 Years edition is in order at that point. Although still using a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, it makes 328 horsepower - 13 hp more than the regular car. As a result, it'll blast its way to 62 mph in only 4.6 seconds.

As the Golf R aficionados in the video demonstrate using an engine that has been removed from one of the hot Golfs, changes were made to both the inlet and exhaust sides of the EA888 engine. In the Golf R 20 Years, the throttle valve always remains fully open. Doing this prevents air from accumulating ahead of the throttle valve but at the intake valves directly, and that means air is directly available for the combustion process when you get on the gas.

This change noticeably improves responsiveness when negotiating tighter tracks or corners. In situations like this, you'll find yourself accelerating and decelerating in regular, short bursts. In the Golf R 20 Years, there is less of a delay when pressing the gas pedal and the power is immediately available.

Changes were also made to the turbocharger. In part-load driving, the turbocharger is preloaded so that it maintains a constant speed. Effectively an anti-lag system, this has a positive effect on the car's throttle response, often an issue in turbocharged cars. The video above delves deeper into how this aspect of the turbo-four has been enhanced.

It all adds up to a car that is more eager and incisive than the standard Golf R, despite the fairly small increase in power. With new rivals like the Honda Civic Type R and upcoming Toyota GR Corolla, the Golf R will need every trick in the book to stay in contention.