At this year's GTI Meet at Lake Worthersee (24th to 27th May) in Austria, Volkswagen is presenting a compact, sporty car very much in the spirit of the original GTI - the new Volkswagen up! GTI.
The new up! GTI is a near-production concept that closes the circle 41 years after the debut of the first Golf GTI MK1, and pays tribute to this icon. The concept and power output of the 113bhp up! are broadly in line with the Golf GTI MkI presented in 1976 that had 108bhp.
With compact dimensions, a low weight, a powerful engine, sports running gear and the typical insignia of a GTI, this sporty small car will certainly bring a new dimension of driving fun to the compact category.
With the up! GTI, Volkswagen is building a bridge that spans four decades - when the first GTI was launched in the 1970s it democratised access to fast roads around the world, especially the overtaking lane of German motorways.
Where large saloons and expensive sports cars had previously set the pace, the new compact Volkswagen suddenly stirred up the field. The red stripe in the radiator grille, the black double stripes across the side sills and behind, the black stripe on the tailgate immediately identified this Volkswagen as a GTI.
The most powerful up! to date is immediately recognisable with its typical GTI insignia. For instance, the front features the red stripe across the radiator grille with honeycomb pattern,a nd has the GTI logo integrated above it. The exterior mirror caps are in high-gloss black, while the 17-inch alloy wheels have also been completely redesigned. The interior includes features as a leather-trimmed sport steering wheel, a GTI gear knob and the legendary 'clark' seat pattern.
The production version of the up! GTI will be launched into the market in early 2018.
