Just in time for the weekend of the traditional Polo GTI meeting at Wörthersee, which again cannot take place due to COVID-19, Volkswagen is giving a first look at the new Polo GTI. The compact sports car is based on the recently introduced new Polo and will in the future be the top version of the series.
But there are no real surprises, the facelift of the “normal” Polo reveals many things. In general: the Polo GTI looks like the Golf 8 GTI, including honeycomb LEDs.
VW had already indicated that the performance of the 1.8 TSI would increase from 200 to 207 PS. The maximum torque remains at 320 Newton meters. The acceleration improves slightly to 6.5 seconds at 100 km / h. A 7-speed DSG will always be standard. If you want to change gear yourself, you have to use the Hyundai i20 N (204 PS) or Ford Fiesta ST (200 PS).
Inside, the revised VW Polo GTI, like its civilian brothers, will be significantly more digital. LED headlights and LED taillights are always included. As standard, the GTI probably gets the “Digital Cockpit Pro” with a 10.25-inch cockpit on board. The Polo driver can switch quickly and easily between the three basic layouts of the “Digital Cockpit” using the “View button” in the right-hand clasp of the new multifunction steering wheel.
The screen of the infotainment system is arranged in the middle of a high-gloss black island. The only additional button in this area is the hazard warning switch. In conjunction with digital instruments and infotainment, a continuous digital cockpit landscape is created.
“Once a GTI, always a GTI” – you hear this statement again and again from fans of the sporty VW models with the magic three letters. VW itself promises a “powerful front-wheel-drive”, a dynamically tuned sports chassis “and an” expressive design “for the new Polo GTI, and it stands out from the crowd.
The GTI meeting has a long tradition: GTI fans met for the first time in 1982 in the Austrian municipality of Reifnitz / Maria Wörth. Over the years, the event has not only become a magnet for car enthusiasts, but also a real folk festival under the motto “GTI”. It usually takes place for four days, starting on the Wednesday before Ascension Day through to the weekend.
