Facelifted Volkswagen Polo GTI to launch soon, with a sporty body kit and a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine.
Volkswagen will follow the newly facelifted Polo supermini with an updated GTI variant, to be revealed at the end of June – and this is our first look at the updated Hyundai i20 N and Ford Fiesta ST rival.
This teaser sketch hints at the refreshed styling, which will follow the mould set out by the regular version of the updated supermini. A new front end with a full-width LED light bar will be joined by updated headlights and a new lower front bumper section, while we can also see new five-spoke alloy wheels in the image.
Similar updates will take place at the rear with new tail-lights inspired by the larger Golf Mk8, while the interior will see a new GTI-branded sports steering wheel appear alongside updated heating and climate controls with touch-sensitive sliders in place of physical buttons and knobs.
The new Polo GTI is all but certain to feature the same turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine as the old model, although Volkswagen is yet to confirm its power output. The previous car developed 147kW, but the brand has had to decrease the output of some of its hot hatchbacks in the past to comply with more stringent CO2 regulations.
Drive will be sent to the front wheels via a seven-speed DSG automatic transmission. Volkswagen only offered this configuration in Australia with the pre-facelift model, with a six-speed manual transmission only offered in left-hand-drive markets.
Next month’s reveal would more than likely have been timed to coincide with the annual VW festival at Worthersee in Austria, though like last year, the 2021 event has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Luke Wilkinson