What happened to the top had to drop because Volkswagen has announced that its smallest hot hatchback is no more. In an interview with the Dutch edition Upper Equipment magazine, a spokesman for the Wolfsburg-based automaker announced! The GTI can no longer be ordered. The news came shortly after that Car reported the engine vigorously had been pulled out of England. The sad reality is that VW is ditching pint-sized performance cars altogether.
Production isn’t over yet as the German brand has a backlog of orders to complete but it’s climbing! GTI is no longer available to configure. If you’re in a hurry and depending on where you live, there may be some in stock. The decision only affects sporty derivatives as regular models and pure electric e-ups! still sold. As a reminder, the latter was on hiatus before returning to the lineup about a year ago as a cheaper alternative to the ID.3.
Conceived as a spiritual successor to the original Golf GTI, the A-segment hot hatch features a turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine that produces 115 horsepower and 200 Newton-meters (147 pound-feet) of torque. While that may not sound like much, go up! The GTI weighs just 1,070 kilograms (2,358 pounds) and does 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 8.8 seconds before reaching a top speed of 122 mph (196 km/h).
Offered in three- and five-door variants, the smallest GTI model competes in a defined segment. Other tiny cars with sporty ambitions that come to mind are the Renault Twingo GT and Suzuki Swift Sport. A direct successor is not planned as VW intends to replace the up! end of the decade with small electric cars, likely badged as ID.1 or ID.2.
The future of the Polo GTI doesn’t look bright either as VW CEO Thomas Schäfer recently said strict Euro 7 regulations could make the supermini too expensive.
