one of my mates dads has an R32 golf, he took me for a ride and i have to say it is pretty damn fast, probably about the same as his previous MY98 WRX. he was one of the first people in WA to buy one of the golfs he had to pre-order it like 6-months to a year in advance so yes there was only limited numbers made, and they are quite costly too. i think the price was in the $60,000 to $80,000 price range.
just my opinion but that is quite a valuable learning car, im still on P's as im only 18 and i know for a fact that you will want to push the limits and fool around in your first car, and that is when accidents are very likely to happen, so a $60,000 limited edition car isnt one you want to crash.
have you thought about the insurance on the Golf? it would be huge... i can just imagine the excess.
my 2 cents
Mitch