Nowadays, hot-hatches have become extremely potent, but a little on the large side as well, some of them being a far cry from their no-nonsense predecessors. That doesn’t mean the days of quick, lightweight, small cars are gone, though.
Volkswagen popularized the concept of the hot hatch with its 1976 Golf GTI, remaining a milestone in the segment for the past 40 years – with the latest Golf GTI Clubsport attesting the car maker’s expertise.
But with its 306 HP and 380 Nm (280 pound-feet) of torque 2.0-liter four-banger turbo, the Clubsport offers more than the average motorist’s requirements. Heck, even the regular GTI can be a handful, but according to Autocar Magazine, the German car maker could be cooking something cheap and cheerful; an Up! GTI.
Citing VW’s engineering officials, the British publication said that the small city car could get the 113bhp, 147lb ft version of the 1.0-litre engine, currently doing its thing under Golf Bluemotion’s hood. A detuned variant of this mill (from 113hp to 89hp) has already been added to the Up! line-up.
It might not sound like much, but prototypes equipped with DSG transmissions are going from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8 seconds flat. We reckon the model’s weight will have something to do with the performance figures as well, as the standard variant tips the scale at just 929 kg (2,048.1 lb) – albeit a GTI model could shed a few kilos.
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