It’s like a bad dream, but we’ve pinched ourselves enough that we’re now relatively certain this is, in fact, reality. A reality that’s about to become a lot more bland if you’re shopping for a Volkswagen, as its performance flagship R32 will be bowing out after spending just one year on the American market. No more laughing at the R32-less Canadians, then.

We loved the R32’s character – a big, fat V-6 smashed under the hood of a Golf Rabbit driving all four wheels via a speedy-shifting DSG twin-clutch gearbox. But alas, VW is releasing its Mark VI Golf on Europe for 2009 (we’ll be seeing it in Rabbit form sometime thereafter), and apparently that didn’t leave enough room for the R32 in the lineup.

There are still a few new examples left around the country, and you can reportedly get up to $2,000 cash back if you act before Friday. We’d advise you do just that.

[Source: Motor Authority]