Volkswagen Up GTI Revealed; To Go On Sale Next Year

Volkswagen has finally revealed the GTI version of its popular hatchback Up!. The global debut of the Up! GTI will be happening at the Worthersee GTI Meet to be held later in the month. The company says that the new Up! GTI continues to be a compact, sport car that gives you the thrills of a go-kart. The tiny VW hatch gets a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder engine which is turbocharged and makes 113 bhp at 5,000 rpm along with 230 Nm of peak torque at 2,000-3,500 rpm. The 0-100 kmph sprint is done in 8.8 seconds and it has a top speed of 196 kmph. With a kerb weight of just 997 kg, the VW Up! has a solid power-to-weight ratio of 113.3 bhp/tonne.

(Volkswagen Up! GTI - Dashboard)

The Up! GTI also gets revised suspension and a bit of down-force at the rear in order to aid performance and handling. In order to make the car look sportier, the Up! gets VW's typical GTI insignia of red stripes on the grille up front, 'clark tartan' pattern seat covers, double black stripes on side sill and the black stripe on the tailgate. In many ways, Volkswagen says that the Up! GTI is the true successor of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk I, which was launched way back in 1976.

(Volkswagen Up! GTI)

The table above is just to say how Volkswagen has kept the Up! GTI as close as possible to the original 1976 Golf GTI in almost all departments. The older Golf weighed lesser and therefore, had superior power-to-weight ratio.

(Volkswagen Up! GTI)

The new Up! GTI will be the most powerful version of the car when launched. It gets 17-inch alloys, GTI badges all over, a body lowered by 15 mm and dollops of charm, as was the case with the first generation Golf GTI. The company says that not only does the new Up! GTI look like a GTI model but also drives like one.